


The Monkey & The Panda

by Quasimagical



Category: Kung Fu Panda - All Media Types
Genre: Compilation, GaaAAYY, M/M, Shipping, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-25 10:48:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6192067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quasimagical/pseuds/Quasimagical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fluffy compilation of shorts & drabbles inspired by the Monkey/Po ship & the headcanon that Po is gay. No chronological order, but everything will be from the same storyline; I just suck at committing to traditional writing projects. </p><p>If the style or subject matter isn't for you, don't read it maybe? Otherwise, I'm open to constructive criticism!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Guilty Twinkle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-KFP2. Viper suspects that something is going on between Monkey & Po.

Oddly, she hadn't thought anything of it, until Mantis' recurring complaints about his "Best Bro" almost never hanging around anymore, but rather, choosing the company of a certain special panda warrior. It was true, of course; Monkey and Po's occasional play-dates had grown into a near daily ritual over the past few weeks. Sometimes even more often than that.

And it was said little observation that had really peaked Viper's interest -- activated that oh so delicate serpent's intuition, if you will.

Something was different.

Once she'd figured that part out, it hadn't taken her very long to put the pieces together; and after that, it'd only been a matter of time, awaiting the perfect moment, before she'd decided to approach her dear friend on the matter. Despite her motherly heart, after all, she was insatiably curious. She always had been. And it had usually been a blessing, more often than not. A helpful compliment to her instinctual desires to step in as the spirit guide they all needed sometime or another. Ah, Viper, always the altruist.

Well. Almost always.

Unless of course...she simply couldn't resist the sweet temptations of knowledge. Which was indeed the case...now and again. _No one's perfect, right?_

 

* * *

 

 

Monkey hurriedly made his way down the hall of the Jade Palace's student barracks, and out the door to begin his journey down to the river where he and Po had been meeting faithfully almost every afternoon now. For training, of course. So their story went. No one had actually questioned it in a while. It was just another day, like all the rest.

So naturally, the ape hadn't a single expectation that anyone would be waiting right outside beside the barrack's entrance, to do just that.

"Monkey!"

At the sudden calling, he stopped abruptly, nearly skidding to a halt; his feet had barely touched the ground after the spritely leap through the doorway he'd only just taken.

Despite the surprise, he nimbly spun himself around to face the inquisitor. "Eh?!"

Viper normally would've been a bit more apologetic for nearly sending one to their face, but there was no room in her thoughts for such things today. For she had a plan -- a crafty little tactic, if you will, driven alone by curious inductions and the craving to solidify them.

When her opening was granted, she quickly slithered forward to fill the space between them, and continued with confidence. "Tell me what's going on with you and Po."

It wasn't a question, but a demand. And an accusatory one if there ever was.

Monkey blinked, noticeably taken aback. His comrade, however, only stood her ground, steady and straight-faced; though internally, her smile grew wide. _Gotcha._

Sure, it was...slightly manipulative, maybe...but essentially harmless. The snake's intentions were never truly malicious, even when cunning was her weapon of choice. A small price to pay for the answers she sought.

"Er, what do you mean?" he replied after an awkward pause. Shifty eyes and a stifled laugh accompanied the obviously feigned ignorance.

Viper sighed, "Oh, don't deny it!" She shook her head with the words. She then met his gaze again, and softened into a knowing smile. "I _know_ that look."

It was a half-truth. Something was _definitely_ going on, that she knew. The exact nature of said something, however, she hadn't _quite_ placed, but rather...assumed. She awaited a sign: a bashful denial, a nervous laugh, blushing cheeks? Any indication now, that her assumption was correct. But Monkey, only smiled after a moment of silence, the _look_ she spoke of more than evident in the guilty twinkle of his blue eyes.

"Okay," he finally answered with a chuckle. "Then I won't."

And with that, he turned on his toes to bound down the mountainside steps and off to the river to find Po as per usual, leaving his serpentine comrade wide-eyed and speechless at his unapologetic confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for taking the time to read my work! Each chapter will be a separate scene/idea unless otherwise specified, so the lengths will vary. Feedback & kudos are super appreciated, but regardless, I hope you enjoy. :)


	2. Dirty Little Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-KFP2. Po finds an excuse to spend more time with his crush.

Five whole minutes had now passed since Po last moved a muscle. Perhaps more; it wasn't like he'd been keeping track. No, he'd been much too lost in his thoughts, playing through the same words he'd dwelt on over and over...and over. For three days now. But this, was the first time he'd actually made it to the door of the one he wanted on the other side of that conversation.

So now he stood.

Frozen, wide-eyed, fist raised in the appropriate gesture. All he had left to do...was knock. Which, of course, wasn't happening. A typical brain reaction to the Dragon Warrior's attempts to act on both his least and most favorite emotional experience ever --

A crush.

It'd been a long, _long_ time since Po had felt anything even similar to what he was feeling again now. He'd tried to push it out of his mind, oh how he'd tried. But of course, he'd always been, a hopeless romantic. And now it was back, in full force.

He held his breath. Still unmoving, undecided, unnerved. The universe, however, waited for no one, as usual. Monkey's door swung open.

Upon coming face to face with the frozen, wide-eyed panda, the ape blinked in surprise.

"...Po?" he inquired under a stifled, taken-aback giggle.

Po squeaked, "Hi."

An ever so awkwardly unexpected little exchange. Classic Po.

Monkey raised a brow and scanned the bear with both well-deserved confusion and curiosity before he continued. "Uh...hey."

The two stood in silence for a moment. Slowly, Po lowered his arm back down to his side. Monkey narrowed his eyes a bit, his look of confusion unfaltering, until finally, he softened into a humored half-grin.

"How long have you been standing here?" he asked, almost as if he could read his friend's mind.

Po choked, "Err, uhH, not long! I mean y'know, like...a...second...or two."

The lie was all too obvious, as always. Another Po classic. Monkey's grin widened.

"Ohhh," he nodded sarcastically, despite knowing full well that it would more than likely go right over Po's head. "A second or two! Of course."

And naturally, the panda released a soft sigh of relief at the response, his own face melting into a satisfied smile. No matter how nervous he could get at times, being face-to-face with his best friend never failed to inspire an unexplainable air of comfort. Though the stark inability to recognize rhetoric irony at its best probably also helped.

Monkey stifled a snort and shook his head with a sigh. "So, what can I do for you today, my friend?"

"Uhhhhh," Po blinked, stiffening up again as he remembered the real reason behind his visit. Or, the excuse, to be more accurate. Another moment of awkward silence passed before he did his very best to blurt the poorly planned words out. "Um. Well! Actually! I was kinda wondering if, uh, you could...well y'know, I-I'm...kinda bad at...yoga, and you're like a master, sooo...y'know! I just thought maybe you could uh...help...me?"

The bear grinned upon finishing the awkward proposal. Monkey, on the other hand, only stood speechless, the confused expression from a moment ago right back in place. He tilted his head a bit, raising both brows in disbelief before he carefully replied.

" _You_ want more yoga practice?" he asked.

Hesitantly, Po nodded. "Yeah! ...I mean, y'know, if you can. You don't _have_ to. I just, thought I'd ask!"

It was a foolproof plan, guaranteed to work! They could do yoga together all the time! Monkey _loved_ yoga! And he was so good at it! It was the perfect way for Po to sneak in a ton of extra Monkey time without ever revealing his stupid crush! There was just...one small thing he'd totally neglected to take into consideration.

"You _hate_ yoga."

Guilty as charged.

Po blinked. Monkey knew him far too well. But at this point, even that wouldn't stop him from trying!

He laughed, "AhehH, what are you talkin' about? I don't _hate_ yoga! ...Yoga's awesome!! Since when have you known me to hate something awesome??"

The simian averted his gaze and opened his mouth to speak, but found no words. So of course, Po took the liberty of answering the question for him.

"Exactly!! I don't hate awesome things." With a sly smile, he pointed a chubby finger toward his comrade. " _Ever_."

Despite the bold-faced "argument" going against everything Po had ever said about yoga, all the whining about having to be quiet, all the complaining about the slow pace of the practice itself........it was persuasive enough. That or Monkey just didn't care if it wasn't.

He shrugged. "Okay. If you wanna do yoga, let's do yoga."

" _Yesss!!!_ " Po hissed with a celabratory fist pump.

Monkey only stifled a snicker at the panda's quirky and often puzzling mentality before knuckle-walking his way through the door frame and starting down the hall of the barracks. His excited teammate followed closely behind.

 

* * *

 

Whether it was sincere or not, Po's supposed newfound interest in the art of yoga had been taken quite seriously -- which was made quite evident by the location his instructor had chosen for their first lesson. Either that, or...Monkey had just wanted to giggle at his teammate's ridiculous efforts to trek all the way out to the Pool of Sacred Tears. Which was also, quite likely.

"Come on, Panda! You got this!!"

And of course, his teasing words of encouragement did little to solve that mystery.

Po heaved, "I...dunno...if I got... _anything!!"_ He stumbled for about the hundredth time so far on their decidedly arduous journey. "AhhHH!" And then he wheezed. "Wait! Just a second!"

Just another typical day in the life of the Dragon Warrior. In response, Monkey only giggled with childish glee and leapt on ahead, leading the way through their last few legs of travel.

Once they'd finally arrived, Po wasted no time in collapsing flat on his face with the heaviest sigh he could muster. The other master took a deep inhale instead, rolling his shoulders forward and back down as he slowly let the air out again. Monkey stood tall and proud; he beamed bright-eyed at the beautiful place of serenity around them before spinning back around to his fallen best friend.

He snickered, "Need a minute?"

"More like five," the bear breathed in a muffled voice. "Or...twenty five... Ahh! This grass feels nice."

With a knowing smile, Monkey shook his head. He hopped a step closer to take two yoga mats from Po's luggage, and proceeded to make his way over to the sacred pool. As he began to set up for their yoga session, his pudgy comrade gradually peeled himself up from his comfy, green grass bed.

The place was even more beautiful than Po remembered; he took a moment to admire the deep blue, partly cloudy sky, the gentle summer breeze, and the overall atmosphere of peace and harmony that now surrounded him. "Whoaaa."

He grinned and stood to his feet before hurrying over to Monkey, who was already sat on his tail for a moment of meditation.

"So uh," Po began with a soft giggle. "Why are we all the way out here for this? I mean, this place is awesome, but, y'know."

Monkey smiled at the words, but held his peace a moment longer. His teammate took the opportunity to set the rest of the luggage down and get settled on the second, nearby mat. After his next exhale, the ape then finally opened his eyes again. He met the sky's gaze almost forlornly before turning his attention back to Po, smile renewed.

He answered, "This is where Master Oogway first showed me how to conquer my darkest weaknesses, and revive myself through inner strength and focus."

"Darkest _weaknesses!?_ " the panda's eyes widened in amazement. "Whoa... I didn't even know you _had_ those!!"

Monkey chuckled. "Weeeell, it's a pretty exclusive club. So don't tell anyone."

"O-Oh, don't worry! You're safe with me!" He paused after the words and averted his eyes, twiddling his chubby fingers a bit before he continued with a curious fascination. "Sooo...what kinda dark weaknesses did you have to overcome??"

The yogi's eyes were closed again at that point, though he peeked one open to glance at his friend's adorable intrigue. Then, he smiled and closed it again. With a sigh, he replied, "Story for another day, Panda. Today we practice yoga."

"Oh! Right, right, sorry."

Po quickly settled into a cross-legged position and straightened his posture to match Monkey's; though of course, he couldn't help his silent wishing that he too had a long, beautiful tail to balance on. _So cool!_ he thought to himself as he tried not to grin. His feelings for the ape were only amplified by the shameless admiration he held for him as a legendary kung fu master.

_Okay, relax, relax. Yoga. Inner strength and focus!_

_I can do this. I can... Ugh._

Kung fu training was without question the bear's greatest passion. He could do it all day and never grow tired beyond the obvious physical fatigue. _Mental_ strength and focus, however, the art of patience, was _not_ his forte. No matter how hard he tried, he never seemed to be able to calm his mind in the same way the other masters could.

Despite the fact that his intentions for practicing yoga with Monkey weren't actually the practice itself, there was no doubt that he needed it.

He took a deep breath in, following the pattern his instructor flowed with, and slowly let it out in the same fashion. He was lucky to even get past two of these before finding himself completely distracted yet again. So it was a good thing that Monkey was saving the deep meditation...for now.

"Okay," the ape began. "We'll start nice and easy." He gently rolled his shoulders a few times, keeping his breath steady and aligned with the motion. "Do you remember many of the postures Master Shifu taught you?"

Po followed along with his comrade's slow shoulder rolls. "Uh, yeah! Like, _all_ of them!"

Monkey opened his eyes back up just to send a funny look the panda's way in response; skeptically, he raised an eyebrow. Then he smiled. "Hm. I suppose you won't need a review, then."

"Uhhhhh." The amateur blinked, realizing his mistake immediately as he sheepishly raised a finger. He tried to correct himself. "Well I-I mean, it probably wouldn't _hurt_...to review...a few of 'em."

As the other's smile widened into a knowing grin, he tried his best not to laugh. Quickly, he shook his head and took a short breath to wipe the amusement from his face. It was time for practice and focus, not giggles. No matter how silly or cute Po was sometimes.

Monkey then cleared his throat. "Yes, okay. Just follow my lead."

On his next exhale, he lowered down from his tail balance and gently rolled forward on his yoga mat, unfolding his crossed legs to rest on his hands and knees. Po followed the motion as told, but...as usual...didn't get very far.

"I'm sure you remember the cow pose," Monkey said as he flexed his spine inward with a deep breath in, and then slowly arched it upward a few seconds later. "And the cat."

Upon lifting his gaze up to watch his instructor's spinal stretching, Po _very_ quickly realized just how bad an idea he'd gotten himself into. It was as if he was now staring straight into the heavens, or at an enormous platter of freshly baked bean buns. Only better. Somehow.

You see, he'd always recognized Monkey as a beautiful animal. That was just a given. Common sense. Simple science. Little Po, however, had never been a bear of many physical attractions that ran...deeper...than that, if you will. But now; in the unexpected moment he found himself in, he could do nothing but stare, a foreign flutter in his stomach weakening him in a way his breath couldn't even _try_ to fight.

His jaw simply hung open for a good few seconds before he forced a shaken reply. "Uh...y-yeah."

"Good," the ape calmly answered, oblivious to his student's now dazzled state of weakness. He continued rolling his spine in and out with his breath, obviously already lost in the relish of his practice. "Don't worry about perfection, we will get there in time. Just do what feels good."

"Got it."

But as the session went on, Po only stayed right where he was. He was mesmerized: though whether it was by the sunkissed glistening of his instructor's golden coat of fur, the alluring ease with which he melted into each yoga pose so flawlessly, or, heaven forbid, the all too tantalizing flex of the muscles in his perfectly toned arms, the panda knew not. There seemed to not be a single thing about Master Monkey that _didn't_ send his heart skipping beats these days.

It would've been pretty frustrating...had he cared. But at this point, he was just another lovesick fool.

"Yep."

"Uh-huh."

"Nice."

With each posture Monkey led him through, Po affirmed cooperation. It wasn't until about fifteen minutes into their sequence, though, that Monkey took notice of the soft absent-mindedness with which his friend spoke said affirmations.

Curiously, he blinked his eyes open, and turned from his volcano pose to see the panda sat plainly on his butt -- and not even cross-legged. Monkey immediately lowered his arms down into a gesture of stunned confusion at the sight.

He coughed, "Whh! Po!?"

Po snapped back into reality with a few dazed blinks of his own before he met the other's gaze, and froze, eyes wide. He could feel the warmth rising in his cheeks instantly. _Oh no..nO!_ An ever so awkward silence passed as the two stared at one another from their respective places. Monkey's jaw hung open; and finally, the ape sighed out a chuckle, dropping his face into his palm.

"You haven't done any of these, have you?"

"Heh...oops," Po squeaked.

After a moment, Monkey raised his face back up to send a knowing smile Po's way. "...I knew you hated yoga."

The panda could've collapsed in the relief to know that his friend still probably didn't suspect a thing. He sighed, and took the blessed opportunity to keep holding onto his dirty little secret.

"Well, to be honest, a lunch break does sound a _bit_ more awesome right now."

Technically, it wasn't a complete lie; Po _was_ pretty famished after all that internal swooning; and thankfully as such, it was believable enough.

Monkey only shook his head in amusement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear -- I know yoga isn't traditionally a Chinese practice, but Legends of Awesomeness featured it once, so I can too. WahaAA! 
> 
> Enjoy, friends. :)


	3. Pranks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-KFP2. Thus, the prank war begins.

"Aw _man_ , this is gonna be _so_ good!"

Mantis rolled with his signature laughter as his simian bestie snickered along with a devious grin. The two masters sat up on the top shelf in the student barrack's kitchen, on either side of Monkey's special cookie jar, as the ape shook a _more_ than generous amount of Sichuan peppercorn powder all over the freshly baked almond cookies he'd just refilled it with.

Monkey said, "I'll teach that greedy bear to steal _my_ food!"

Mantis and Monkey continued setting up their little prank and giggling between themselves; it was indeed a great one. So great, in fact, that neither of them even noticed the quiet footsteps of two more certain warriors joining in on the scene. That is, until it was too late.

Shortly, a familiar cough interrupted them.

The pranksters froze.

And turned their heads to see none other than Masters Crane and Tigress, now stood just past the kitchen entranceway. For a good moment, no one moved a muscle. Not even a swish of Tigress' tail broke the stillness. The grins Monkey and Mantis once held were now wiped clean off their faces; and the peppercorn powder rested just above the cookie jar, tightly locked in its wielder's dirty grasp. They'd been caught red-handed.

Finally, Crane spoke.

"Um...okay," he paused, awkwardly enough. "What are you doing to Po's cookies?"

Monkey could have choked.

"THEY'RE _MY_ _COOKIES!!"_ he retorted loudly, without a single thought towards the fact that he'd fully exposed the long-kept secret. So lost he was in the passionate little revelation that the peppercorn powder slipped right from his hand in one swift motion. He blinked. "Uh-oh."

And there it flew across the room, sprinkling all over the kitchen and plummeting down to bounce lightly on the floor before rolling to a stop, right by Tigress' foot. She looked up from the little mess to cock an eyebrow in question. Mantis stifled a humored snort.

"Care to elaborate?" she asked, with more doubt than curiosity.

Monkey sighed and hung his head in annoyance at the whole situation. A moment later, he raised up to get Mantis back on his shoulder before jumping down from the top shelf and landing nimbly on the table below, then again to the floor.

He answered, "They're not Po's cookies, he just _found_ them and helped himself! I've been hiding them up there for years. I guess you caught him eating them too?"

"Oh," Crane said. "...Yeah."

Tigress only softened ever so slightly at the question, before she confirmed with a quiet "hmm". When she seemed satisfied with the explanation, Mantis took the liberty of continuing it further.

"Yeah, so we -- well, Monkey came up with this genius prank to get him back for stealing them!! It's gonna be hilarious!" he chuckled with the words.

The cat then lowered her gaze to the container of peppercorn powder that rested by her feet again. She reached down to pick it up, studying the label for a second and then looked up to Monkey and Mantis again.

"Sichuan peppercorn," she said. She gave a small smile before tossing the powder back across the room to Monkey, who caught it effortlessly. "Nice."

He grinned back. "Thanks!"

He then proceeded to return the powder back to its rightful place in the spice cupboard. The prank was complete, and now it was just a matter of waiting for Po to come cookie-snatching again. Which, knowing him, wouldn't be very long at all.

And indeed, before the sun went down, the painful and piercing shrieks of a peppercorn-afflicted panda echoed throughout the halls of the student barracks, followed closely behind by the hysterics of the ones behind said affliction.

It was a glorious day for Master Monkey...but little did he know...that it was only just beginning.

 

* * *

 

"When he _finally_ stopped crying, Monkey knew he had _no choice_ but to accept his defeat!"

As the Dragon Warrior prepared the ending to the final story of his first kung fu lesson, his students sat wide-eyed in pure amazement.

The young bunnies had come to their introductory class that day expecting ferocious butt-kicking galore, so of course, what they'd gotten instead had surprised them greatly; but with each story their teacher told, they'd edged closer and closer to the edges of their fluffy little seats. And now, they fervently anticipated the last of the five secrets of kung fu -- the secret of Master Monkey!

Po continued with passion, "He stood back up, and hung his head in _shame_. Then he said to Master Oogway, 'You win. I will leave.' ... _But!"_ The bunnies gasped in unison. "Just as he turned to go, the old master touched his shoulder gently, and said to him, 'Stay. Use your skills for _good_ , young warrior. Find the _one thing_ that you were denied _so_ long ago!'

"Monkey thought about it _pretty_ hard for a minute as he turned back around. Then he looked to Oogway, and asked, 'My pants?'" A quiet chorus of giggles erupted amongst Po's students. He could barely stifle his own, as well as a _very_ satisfied grin before he went on.

"Oogway," he chuckled out. "only laughed softly. And replied... _'Compassion.'_ "

 

* * *

 

The Furious Five plodded their way along to everyone's most _adored, cherished_ and long-time _favorite_ event -- the Jade Palace's Introduction to Kung Fu class. Or rather, the meet and greet that always took place at the end of it. As per usual...they were all _super_ excited to be attending!

...Not.

Of course, it wasn't that they didn't see the value behind it, or didn't want to meet the kids; they just...weren't usually very mentally prepared to meet...so _many_ kids...all at once.

Alas, it was part of the package, and it was only for an hour at the most.

 _The longest hour of our lives..._ thought Tigress, as always.

As they neared the end of the little journey, Viper broke the silence. "Isn't Po teaching today? Do you think he's doing alright?"

Crane smirked. "Oh, I'm _sure!"_

"Heh! He's probably rollin' around _with_ all those little tykes, knowing him. Shifu shoulda renamed it 'Introduction to Panda Playtime'," added Mantis, earning a second, stronger laugh from the avian master.

Monkey giggled along with them as Tigress and Viper remained unamused by the faithless assumption. Shortly, they reached the gate that led to where the classes were always held, and for a moment, they all stood hesitant, unsure of what exactly to expect. The simian looked to his serpentine comrade.

"What do you think, then?" he asked.

She blinked in slight surprise, returning the gaze before averting it forward again, as confidently as possible. " _I_ think he's doing fine. And he's learned a lot since joining us." She paused. "We should try to be supportive."

"Agreed," said Tigress. Crane rolled his eyes, but knew better than to argue, despite his teammates' painfully obvious inability to take a joke.

They entered the scene, and braced themselves.

"Hey guys!!"

Po, of course, wasted no time waving enthusiastically to his five best friends from across the palace grounds. Five soft groans rumbled quietly between the masters in response, as they all knew well what was coming now that their presence had been _so_ thoughtfully announced.

Without a second to spare, the whole class of bunnies turned to look in their direction. Big eyes brightened, gasps chorused as the children's smiles grew wide with the utmost excited delight. And in a flash, they were up, bounding and bouncing straight over to their beloved kung fu heroes as fast as their little feet could take them.

The Five braced themselves for the second time. It wouldn't be so bad once the initial chaos was over, but for now, they summoned every ounce of chi they could muster to put towards their bravest faces yet. And then it began.

"Master Tigress, Master Tigress!!" the first bunny squealed with glee.

"Master Mantis, show us your Staying Still For A Really Long Time technique!!"

"Can you dance for us, Master Viper!?"

It didn't take very long at all, though, before the children's boundless admiration and ecstatic praise softened each master's heart considerably, despite how unprepared they might've been for the little ceremony.

Viper blushed and giggled softly. "Oh! Well, it's been a while, but, I suppose so!"

Mantis, though rather unsure which technique exactly the bunnies were referring to, happily accepted the recognition. "Sure, we'll show ya some moves!"

"C'mon, let's all go back over with the Dragon Warrior, then we can have _loads_ of fun," said Crane as he spread his wings out to usher the crowd across the grounds again. Tigress and Monkey went ahead and gently gestured to help lead them all back towards Po.

The bunnies happily complied as they continued on with their excited chatter.

One of them exclaimed, "Po told us all about you guys!! You're so cool!"

"Oh yeah?" Crane chuckled.

Viper chimed back in sweetly, "What all did he tell you, bunnies?"

"He told us how you were born without fangs! But then you became the best ribbon dancer of _all time_ and totally kicked butt!!" another of them answered. The serpent stifled a bashful laugh at the compliment, unable to keep her blush from resurfacing. She bowed her head gracefully.

The children then continued honoring the kung fu masters with their own passionate little retellings of Po's lesson; though it was quite clear in some cases that Master Panda had taken a few...creative liberties...to say the least. But for the most part, everything was true enough to its meaning, and the Furious Five were more than humbled by the appreciation.

That is...until Monkey's story was put back into the limelight.

"Can you still beat the _pants_ off your enemies, Master Monkey!?" asked a bunny with a big, delighted grin.

"Yeah!" a second bunny chimed in with a giggle.

Monkey blinked, a bit taken aback at the unexpected question, but mostly just confused. He shifted his gaze around before directing his attention solely to the bunnies again, and even leaning in a bit closer. Awkwardly, he gave a chuckle. "Ahh, what?"

A third bunny answered, "You know! Back when you were _bad!_ None of the mighty warriors the village sent after you ever stood a _chance!!_ Cus you beat their _pants_ off!!"

"Literally!" the second bunny added with a giddy bounce.

"Until Master Oogway came and defeated you!!"

"For he _wore_ no pants," said another bunny in a soft, dramatic voice.

For a moment, no one else made a sound. The ape's jaw only hung open a moment, his brow still furrowed in complete confusion; until finally, a stifled snicker broke the silence. Monkey looked up from the bunnies and back to Tigress, Crane, Viper, and Mantis, who each shared the confused expression, but were also trying their bests not to laugh. Po, on the other side of the scene, took a deep breath and bit his lip as tightly as he could.

"Uhm, what are they talking about?" Mantis asked through a snort.

Monkey shook his head, lifting his shoulders in a dumbfounded shrug. When he turned back to the bunnies, a few of them looked a bit more concerned than excited now. Then one stepped forward to place a gentle hand on the simian's arm.

She said, "It's okay, Master Monkey. Even after all those mean kids laughed at you for losing your pants, you found compassion! Now you don't have to cry anymore! Or beat anyone's pants off, if you don't want to. Your past is behind you."

"Uhh," Monkey blushed, and squeaked ever so awkwardly. "Th...Thanks?"

The Dragon Warrior was nearly in tears from holding his breath at this point, and even to save his own life, he simply could not keep himself composed any longer. He wheezed, choking on his laughter as he stumbled to his hands and knees. His five teammates instantly looked over to him in surprise.

After the short-lived episode, Po swallowed his hysterics and fought to stand back up as quickly as he could (which, honestly, wasn't very quickly). He coughed, "I-I gotta go.....now."

As he turned to escape, he stumbled again, still struggling to stifle his laughter. It was then that Crane's eyes widened in revelation.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh, he _didn't!"_

The bird cackled along with his words for a second, but quickly came to an abrupt stop upon remembering that Monkey was barely a few feet from him. Monkey, however, didn't move; he only stood in shock at the same realization that he'd been...pranked. Nevermind creative liberties, that silly panda had taken a _glorious_ opportunity to have some serious, albeit harmless story-telling fun.

Viper asked him, "Wait, that stuff didn't actually _happen,_ did it? ...Is this about the cookies!?"

"Aw man! I didn't even think he was serious about getting you back!" Mantis joined in.

Even Tigress was trying her utmost to hide the smile that was now growing on her face.

None the wiser, the young bunnies looked amongst themselves in curiosity and confusion. One of them asking, "Cookies!? I want cookies!!"

It was certainly a surprising ordeal, for everyone.

Finally, after a good minute, Master Monkey snapped himself out of his mild embarrassment and the shock that he'd been bested at his own art, by the very one he'd never expected would fight back. Let _alone_ actually succeed. Though unfortunately for his new opponent...he did not play games. _This_ was war.

He hesitated no more. "It is _on,_ Panda!!"

And with a bold laugh of his own, he leapt up to chase after the retreating prankster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After seeing Secrets of the Scroll, the thought of Monkey's first backstory being some silly prank of Po's came to me, so I decided to do it. :) Not the shippiest of shorts, but seeing Monkey & Po prank each other all the time in Legends of Awesomeness always melts my gay little heart!
> 
> Enjoy!


	4. Secrets, or Things of That Sort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-KFP2. Po confides in one of his closest friends.

Master Tigress sat tall with grace and austerity, eyes softly shut and shoulders back as she rested in peaceful meditation. This very practice, passed on to her from Master Shifu himself, had been a faithful companion to every vigorous day of training she'd endured over the years. All she needed was a quiet room full of oxygen, and through any troubles she might face, the restorative powers of the breath remained a constant.

In fact, at times, the quiet room wasn't even a necessity anymore. But other times, it was. You see, the ferocious feline, much like her teacher, was very gifted in the ways of chi, and the fluidity with which her senses adapted to it. With just the right focus of mind and body, she could hone into even the most intricate details of another's chi; and with the inversion of that same focus, she could drown out even the most obtrusive distractions.

Of course...

There was at least _one_ distraction she hadn't had _quite_ as much luck with...yet.

Tigress' ear twitched as a sudden, oh-so-familiar ripple in her calm brought all awareness back to the forefront of her mind. Almost any other presence could have slipped right under her radar had she allowed it. Why this one was so different, she still hadn't quite figured out. But it was.

One thing she had grown to know well, however, was that there was no sense in trying to avoid it. Softly, she blinked her eyes open, and turned to look toward her room's door. She didn't speak; she only waited. And sure enough, as the door swung open in not even a full moment's time, her mysterious "panda senses" proved to be just as precise as always.

Po froze at the sight of his closest comrade already staring straight through him as if she'd been expecting the entire situation, and already knew his exact thoughts. His jaw hung open for a few seconds; Tigress could almost feel every ounce of confidence he might have had melting away and dripping down into the floorboards of the barracks.

"U-Uh.....hey," he choked.

The cat blinked calmly. Then with a faint nod, she answered, "Po."

The two sat and stood in their respective places, gazes locked as the most awkward of silences loomed between them. Even the air around them suddenly felt as stiff and rigid as an ironwood tree. Until finally, the Dragon Warrior decided his next move.

"Well, I'll, uh...see ya later!" he swiftly turned on his toes to exit the scene. Tigress' eyes widened at his attempt to retreat, and momentarily guided by instinct alone, she quickly stood to her feet. Whatever was going on with her friend, if it was strong enough to inspire this kind of intimidation in him, it wasn't something she could ignore.

She repeated herself, this time with force. " _P_ _o!"_

The panda froze in his tracks. And ever so hesitantly, he turned back around to look at her again. The visible anxiety in his big, emerald eyes alone was more than enough to humble the feline even further. She furrowed her brow, and continued, a bit gentler.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Finally, Po turned to face her completely, but unsurprisingly, donned with his signature facade of ignorance. He chirped, "Nothin'! I was just, y'know, stoppin' by. Nothin' to worry about, no...secrets...or...things of that sort, sooooo I'm just gonna...y'know."

Though unluckily for him, Tigress was the _last_ person who would ever be fooled by it, and at this point, the one who knew his silly trademarks better than anyone.

She bypassed the white lies, and as always, remained a step ahead. "If you need to talk to me, come in and talk to me. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

In response, the bear clamped his mouth shut, leaving no doubts to the answer of the question. Tigress raised her brow and let a small, knowing smile grace her lips before she stepped aside to gesture the invitation a second time. Which must have given Po just the reassurance he needed, for his whole body almost seemed to sigh in relief as he softened into a shy smile of his own.

He nodded and finally, stepped back into the room with her.

Once the two masters were situated on the floor together in privacy, another moment of silence ensued. Though nowhere near as stifling as the first, a bashful awkwardness remained in the air around them. Mostly on Po's end, of course, as he kept his gaze down in obviously arduous efforts to scrape up the words he wanted to say.

Tigress waited patiently.

Several moments went by, but at last, the Dragon Warrior took a shaky breath.

"Okay," he sighed. And paused again, mouth agape. "I've...never actually talked to anyone about this before. But I...I don't think I like... _girls_ ." Quickly, he stifled an awkward cough. "I-I mean, they're fine! But, y'know, I mean...not in _that_ way."

He took another breath as he bravely looked up to meet his friend's gaze, awaiting her reaction. Though the cat did raise her brow in slight intrigue at the information, she showed no other signs of a ruffled conscience. She opened her mouth to speak, but first averted her gaze for a second.

And then she gingerly asked, "Do you prefer men?"

Instantly, Po froze again, as a red tinge coated his pudgy cheeks. He gulped quietly after a moment, and answered the question. "I, uh...y-yeah, I...think so, yeah."

The panda kept a few of the _specific_ details to himself, like how long his feelings had been seemingly dormant since the end of his years as a schoolkid, and...the simian that had so fervently rekindled them lately. Thinking back on each experience with romantic attraction and the like he'd ever had, he couldn't recount a single time of anything similar happening with a girl.

"I see," Tigress acknowledged the reply, and took a brief pause before her next, rather blunt question. "So, what's the problem?"

Po only blinked.

Though he seemed significantly calmer knowing that his comrade didn't think any less of him, he was speechless at the implication that what he'd just told her did not matter. He stared at her in genuine confusion for a moment as he gathered his next words.

"Tigress, I'm... I don't even _know_ anyone else who feels this way," he laughed a bit, in a tone almost akin to hopelessness. "My whole life, it's always been...boys like girls...and girls like boys. I mean, when do you ever see two _guys_ on a date?"

"It's more common than you'd think," she said.

Po sighed wearily, still not satisfied with her answer. "Well, why isn't it _normal,_ then? ... _Why_ do I have to be different? I'm the Dragon Warrior, shouldn't I _be_ normal? Shouldn't I _care_ about this!?"

The feline found no words initially, mostly due to the obvious turmoil she could see in her friend's worried face. She held his gaze with a somewhat conflicted one of her own, unsure how exactly to go about reassuring him that his feelings and his sexuality were valid and fine. She'd never been one to dwell on things of this nature, and despite how much she wanted to comfort Po, she was gradually finding herself a bit more annoyed that these things could be such crucial disturbances of one's rationale.

Finally, she closed her eyes for a few seconds, and opened them again before she firmly replied.

" _No."_

"...What?" Po asked timidly, in more confusion than he'd even had before.

Tigress straightened her posture, and continued confidently, echoing a lesson she'd learned for herself so long ago. "Po. Listen to me. You may be the Dragon Warrior, but you were not chosen out of normalcy, nor anyone's idea of what defines it. You are not here to worry about the things you are _not._ You're here to embrace who you _are_ , and to strive for excellence in whatever that may be. That is the way of kung fu."

At the wise sincerity in her words, Po blinked his eyes wide. He had come a good ways in embracing himself even since first realizing what an important aspect of being the Dragon Warrior that was, back when he'd defeated Tai Lung; but obviously, he still had a long way to go.

So it was a very good thing he had friends like the Furious Five to help him when he couldn't quite do it on his own. The bear could have melted into the humbling gratitude he now felt to be one of them. He looked away from Master Tigress, as the warmest of smiles crept back upon his face, and for the first time, the same weight he'd brought into her room had a brand new air of lightness.

"Yeah," he softly agreed. "I...guess you're right."

Tigress couldn't help but soften with relief to see that she had truly helped her dear friend, at least a little bit. She tilted her head, and asked one final question. "How do you feel now?"

Po inhaled a calming breath of air, and exhaled fully before he nodded and lifted his head back up to meet her gaze with immeasurable thanks.

"Better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yessss, quick updates! ;-) Just a little something I've been toying with in my head for a while. Tigress & Po's friendship is a beautiful thing.
> 
> Enjoy!


	5. A Date With Noodles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-KFP2. Monkey and Po's plans don't go quite as expected.

Po hurried along through the busy morning streets of the Valley of Peace with a full crate of vegetables and various other culinary ingredients in tow. The beloved panda stumbled and dodged his way past the many villagers as he did his best to return each friendly greeting he received, and continued on to his father's noodle shop as fast as he could go.

It was a _very_ important day for Mr. Ping, you see, as tonight he would be hosting one of his rarest events, that was sure to bring the entire town down to Dragon Warrior Noodles & Tofu!

"Oh, thank goodness you're back, son!!" the excited goose exclaimed not even a second later than he saw Po bounce through the shop entrance. He paused his vegetable chopping to open and hold the door to the kitchen for his son to bring in the extra cooking supplies he'd been sent out to fetch not long ago.

Po rushed in with a smile, and found a spot to gently place his shopping crate. "Sorry I took a little longer than I said, it was super busy at the marketplace for some reason."

"Excellent!! Good, good!" Mr. Ping clapped his wings together joyously, completely dismissing the lateness of his request's arrival in favor of the _much_ more captivating news. "If it's busy today, it will be busy tonight! All those hungry shoppers will be _dying_ for a big bowl of noodles!!"

Po chuckled. "Yep! And you'll be selling so many more with your super savings tonight only buy one get one fifty percent off meal deal special!! ...That was it, right?"

With an ecstatic smile, the bird nodded. "Uh-huh, that's the one!"

He then twirled around to admire the beautiful poster on the wall next to them that advertised the very special Po had just described, copies of which were hung up all over the shop, and even throughout the valley! After his moment of eyeing the advertisement lovingly, he gave a dreamy sigh. Then he paused.

"...I've been wondering though, if I should change it to _twenty-five_ percent off instead!"

" _Dad!"_ Po exclaimed.

"What!?" his father answered defensively.

The panda gave a slightly agitated growl, which quickly softened into a stifled snort of amusement. "C'mon, you've had these posters up for weeks! You can't change the deal on the night it's happening! You'll just make people mad."

"Ugh!" Mr. Ping rolled his eyes. He knew, of course, that his son was right. As he spoke his next words, he turned to the shopping crate and started digging through the vegetables, spices, and other yummy things that were inside it. "Yes, yes, don't worry, I'm not going to change it now. I will change it next time!"

Again, Po chuckled, then he took the opportunity to dismiss himself and let his father continue minding the shop. "Alright. Weeeell, I better get back to the palace. Got some more training to do, and then I gotta get ready for--"

"Oh! That reminds me!!" the goose suddenly cut the other's words off. He raised up from the crate with wings full of vegetables and a big, hopeful smile. "I could _really_ use a bit of extra help preparing all this new soup before the rush starts! Do you think you could stop by around 4 o'clock??"

Po's eyes widened in disbelief at the request. "Dad, I can't do tonight! Monkey and I are goin' out, _remember??"_

"At 4 o'clock!?"

"Aghk...no! But we've got training and who knows how long that'll last, and then we have to get ready, and, ahhH! It's our first date since before we left for Gongmen City! Monkey's excited, I'm excited... Why didn't you tell me you needed help before _now?"_ he asked.

Ping seemed to ignore the question entirely, and instead chose to pout as he transferred the new vegetables over to the ones he'd been chopping earlier. "Ohhh, I didn't think it would be this much trouble, I only need you for an hour or so!"

The bear raised an eyebrow suspiciously as he crossed his arms over his chest. " _One_ hour?"

At the next question, Mr. Ping hesitantly turned his gaze from his vegetables back to his son. They stared at one another for a short moment, until finally, Mr. Ping shifted around to face him again, and mirrored his crossed arms. He gave a long, sad sigh, and spoke, much more gently.

"I'm sorry, Po... I guess I'm so used to how _sweet_ you are to help your _poor_ old dad all the time, I just forget sometimes that you have a busy life of your own!" He waddled over with a schmaltzy smile to wrap his wings across Po's belly in a big, mushy hug. "Now don't worry about me anymore! You go on back to your kung fu and your monkeyfriend, and I'll stay here...all alone...with my noodles."

Po melted into exasperation and a soft groan as he let his arms unravel to fall at his sides again. He whimpered, "Daaad, please!"

"But yes," the goose added quickly, still cuddled against his son. " _One_ hour. Or two."

Defeated, Po sighed. "Alright... I'll come back, but I can't stay long, okay?"

"Oh, fan _tastic!!_ Thank you, thank you, my son! I'll see you at 4!" Mr. Ping jumped up from the hug and spun around to skip merrily back across the kitchen and continue his vegetable chopping.

The Dragon Warrior only shook his head with a knowing smile. "See ya later, Dad."

 

* * *

 

Once Po had made his way back to the mountainside steps that led up to the Jade Palace, he took a short moment to gaze up in mental preparation. No matter how hard he trained or how many times he climbed these very stairs, the challenge remained one of the most difficult he would ever face.

"Here we go," he took a deep breath, rubbed his hands together, and then he was off.

The panda panted, grunted and heaved as the vigorous fire in his belly quickly devolved into an all-too-familiar exasperation. Though despite every stumble back and his numerous rest stops, Po's incredible tenacity, as always, stayed alive and strong. It could've taken a thousand years for him to reach the top, but he'd still get there in the end!

But luckily, it didn't take _quite_ that long.

Po was only two more stair sets from victory when the sugar-sweet voice of an angel broke right through his adamant concentration, completely redirecting every ounce of his often disastrously single-tracked attention span.

"It's about time, Silly Panda!!"

The adorably playful giggle that followed the words nearly tripped the bear up yet again as his stomach launched out the welcome mat for its bouncy butterfly friends. Po squeaked in surprise and quickly caught himself before lifting his gaze to smile bashfully up at his partner. Monkey returned the silent affection, arms crossed casually over his chest and a knowing twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

After a second or two passed, Po stifled a quiet laugh, and said, "Hey."

The ape then quickly wiped the cheesy grin clean from his own face in response, feigning seriousness, despite the honesty in his next reply. "Hurry up, Shifu's waiting for you."

"O-Oh, right," Po blushed. He lowered his gaze and pushed himself back up to finish those last two stair sets. When he reached the top, he was met with another big grin from Master Monkey. Then the simian gestured for Po to follow as he started for the training hall.

"C'mon!" he said

Suddenly, Po's eyes widened in remembrance. "Hey, wait a minute!" He hurried after his eager companion. "I need to ask you about a thing!"

"A thing?" the other warrior answered with a giggle as he landed nimbly from a leap through the air and spun around to face the panda. He continued onward, walking backwards now as to give him his full attention.

Po began a bit awkwardly, tapping his chubby digits together as he followed closely behind. "Aheh...yeah, it's um, about tonight."

Monkey raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

Po took a breath. "Weeell, y'know I went to my dad's earlier... He wanted me to get some extra stuff for him 'cus he's got that big sale special going on tonight. Anyway!--"

"He asked you for help with the dinner rush?"

"No!" the bear immediately retorted, but froze abruptly, index finger pointed, mouth agape. Hesitantly, he lowered his finger and closed his mouth again. Monkey shot him an amused, knowing look. "I mean...not _exactly..._ "

Monkey teasingly replied, "Well what _exactly_ did he ask, then?"

Po grunted in slight frustration and paused from his words a moment. More than anything, he didn't want to mess up their plans for tonight, as it wasn't terribly often they got chances to spend time together like this. They were masters first, partners second.

Shortly, Po tried again. "He needs help _preparing_ for tonight. He asked me to stop by around 4 for a bit, and...I couldn't say no to him. There's no telling how long he'll try to keep me there, though! So I was just wondering...if..."

"Iiiiifff?" his teammate asked.

"If...you'd go with me??"

Monkey furrowed his brow in confusion and slight surprise before he brought his backwards walking to a stop finally, and tilted his head back a bit. "Why would you need me? You worked there your whole life, you can handle it, surely."

Po hesitantly said, "Well, yeah! But if _you're_ there, my dad probably won't keep us that long! And then when we're done, we can head right out for the night. It's perfect! ...Plus, he really did seem kinda serious about needing our help for a bit."

" _Your_ help," Monkey corrected him shamelessly.

"AhhH, c'mon, Monk _ey!"_ he clasped his hands together and leaned in a bit closer to plead with his partner. "It'll be way more fun with you there anyway! _Pleeeeeeease?"_

"Hmmmmmmm," the ape narrowed his eyes in consideration, bringing a hand to his chin. Po stayed in his pleading posture, and after a short moment, he poked his bottom lip out to compliment his next move, as he melted into big, sad puppy eyes. Monkey groaned and quickly looked away...but it was too late. "Ugh!! ... _Fiiiiiine."_

Po jumped up in triumph. " _Yesss!!_ You're the best!"

" _You're_ just lucky I can't disappoint sad pandas," Monkey jested.

He turned around to face forward down the path to the training hall again, and proceeded on his knuckles with intent. "Now let's join Shifu and the others before we end up with _no_ plans except palace cleaning duty!"

 

* * *

 

With training behind them and the evening right around the corner, it was finally time for Monkey and Po to head out to Mr. Ping's noodle shop, and then, to the night together they'd been so patiently anticipating.

Mr. Ping was busily mopping the floors now that the last of his lunch guests were gone; he hummed and sang along to his work quietly, until the very interruption he'd been waiting for all day broke through the dead afternoon like a glorious ray of sunshine.

"Hey Dad!"

The ecstatic goose dropped his mop and spun around beaming with glee, ready to leap right into a big, furry panda hug. "Ah! My son! Just in time!" Though he stopped short, at the realization that his son was not alone.

Monkey smiled and waved a hand in the air. "Hi, Mr. Ping!"

For a moment, the bird only stood opposite the two masters. Then he blinked. Then suddenly, he hopped right back into his joyous rhythm, clapping his wings together in celebration. " _Fantastic_ thinking, Po! I could always use an extra pair of hands!" He paused a bit after the words, before stepping closer to pat Monkey's arm. "Er, good to see you, Monkeyfriend!"

Monkey gave an awkward chuckle in return.

"On with noodles!!" Mr. Ping then announced a battlecry without a second to spare. Turning back around, he took the lead, and marched forward toward the kitchen. Monkey and Po exchanged glances of mutual uncertainty, before bravely following behind.

As soon as they arrived, the goose stationed them to preparing bean buns and chopping more vegetables while he returned outside to finish up his mopping. He then continued, "You two should have _seen_ my lunch rush today! So many starving folk looking for half-price noodles, and staying anyway even when I don't have them yet!"

He laughed, "Not _all_ of them, of course! But enough to up my daily profits!"

"That's great, Dad!" Po replied from his post in the kitchen.

Soon enough, Mr. Ping was done cleaning the dining area and back with his two furry helpers again. As he and Po got a new pot of broth started, Monkey was left tending to vegetables and bean buns. For a while, at least; until the first early dinner customers began to arrive.

Mr. Ping gasped excitedly as a family of pigs walked in. He quickly turned to Monkey. "How's your customer service, Monkeyfriend??"

"Uhh," the ape reached a hand behind his head to scratch. "Probably alright...I guess?"

"Perfect!!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, Ping pulled out an apron and tied it around Monkey's waist. He then pulled him away from bean bun duty and out to the dining area before he said, "Go entertain our guests while we get these noodles going!!"

"Dad!" Po hissed. "I thought we were just helping you cook!"

Mr. Ping assured his son, "Don't worry, I'll take over when the soup's ready!"

But as late afternoon became early evening and more and more customers crowded into the restaurant for the special dinner sale, Dragon Warrior Noodles & Tofu quickly, even sooner than Mr. Ping had anticipated, became the biggest hotspot in the Valley of Peace; and it wasn't long at all before he had both Monkey and Po out waiting on his countless tables.

Frantically, the boys rushed back and forth between them, doing their very bests to keep every guest satisfied, as Ping, naturally, dedicated himself to the kitchen. The system was working incredibly well with the new placements! ...Even if, there remained the issue of time and how quickly it was passing.

Which Po could not ignore any longer.

On his next visit to the back for a new run of noodles, the panda finally spoke up to remind his father of his and Monkey's date. He whimpered, "Dad, I dunno how much longer we can keep doing this, it's getting kinda late... We should really go soon."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, son," Mr. Ping replied in exasperation. "I didn't expect this rush to happen so _fast!"_

Po hesitantly continued, "So...when do you think we can go, then?"

"I..." the goose started to request just a _bit_ more of his son's time, but stopped short when Monkey came through the kitchen door to join them. After an awkward few seconds of silence, the simian blinked and hopped a bit closer to send a curious gaze up to his partner. Po returned the gaze with a forced smile, though the worry in his emerald eyes was still more than evident. Mr. Ping could do nothing but soften into a guilty sigh. "I suppose you can go...now."

But no sooner than the words escaped his beak, yet another large crowd of guests entered the already-packed restaurant, completely redirecting the moment's focus.

Ping's jaw dropped. "Oh goodness."

Po and Monkey's eyes widened in unison.

Shortly after the shocking sight, the Dragon Warrior bit his lip and looked fearfully between his dad and his partner, then back out to the crowded restaurant. He knew without a doubt how badly his father still needed their extra help, but along with the thought of disappointing Monkey, and the chaotic mess that was only getting increasingly overwhelming, Po could barely focus on any of it anymore.

He blinked a few times as he struggled to fight through the familiar muscle tension and brain fog with a deep, cleansing breath. Monkey took notice of his teammate's troubled state almost immediately, and carefully asked, "Po?"

When he didn't respond, the ape brought his attention back to the crowd outside, then averted his furrowed gaze thoughtfully. After the short moment of consideration, he looked back up to Po with a smile, and placed a gentle touch to the bear's arm. Monkey then turned to Mr. Ping.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ping," he told him confidently. "We can reschedule our date. We're gonna stay and help you tonight."

Mr. Ping blinked in surprise, beak dropped open. "Y-You… Really!?"

Po too managed to break out of his anxious confliction at the words; he shook his head a bit and turned around to face the two of them with the same shocked expression. "What?"

The simian grinned knowingly in response to both of them before he grabbed Po's arm and started for the kitchen door again. He called back to Mr. Ping as they went out. "Now get those noodle soups ready! We've got this."

And so the busy night went on at Dragon Warrior Noodles & Tofu.

With Mr. Ping's two helpers now fully dedicated to the cause, things were more successful than he ever could've hoped for. Monkey quickly proved to be exceptional at the art of serving, and a perfect compliment to Po's unique flow; and with Mr. Ping in the back doing what he did best, it wasn't long before the once chaotic mess was a beautifully effective system yet again.

Everything continued smoothly as the last few hours of the sale flew by and the rush gradually died down, until all but a small handful of the many guests had bidden farewell.

Po had moved back into the kitchen to assist his father with the washing up, while Monkey took care of the remaining two tables.

"Po...I really didn't mean to ruin your plans like this... If I had only known it was going to be _this_ crazy..."

The goose trailed off nervously as he kept his gaze down on the bowls he was cleaning. Po glanced over to him, only to soften at the guilt in his face. He picked the words back up with his own. "...Dad, if only _I'd_ known, we wouldn't have made our plans on the same night. That was a bad idea, anyway."

Mr. Ping forced a smile before looking up from their tub of soapy water, and out to the ape who was still serving their last customers. Suddenly, he shifted into a more excited tone.

"How can I ever repay that one for all his hard work, though? The boy's a natural, he didn't even need _training!_ And did you _see_ him carrying those trays with his tail!?" He paused, then quickly added, "You should bring him along more often!"

"Heheh," Po chuckled softly as a rosy tinge coated his cheeks. "Yeah...Monkey’s kinda the best." He momentarily looked away after saying the words, trying not to think about how much _he'd_ ruined their night together more than his dad had.

But the panda's troubling thoughts were shortly redirected by a gentle touch. He looked back to his dad, who met him with a warm and sincere smile. "I'm glad you're happy, son."

Po blinked, and then melted into another bashful one of his own.

 

* * *

 

"I really cannot thank you boys enough!"

Mr. Ping wrapped his son in a big, cuddly goodbye hug as he stood with him and Monkey at the entrance of the restaurant, ready to part ways for the night. The three of them had worked hard and everything was finally closed up and squeaky clean for a new day tomorrow.

Monkey stifled a giggle. "Don't mention it, Mr. Ping."

When the goose finished cuddling Po, he turned to his other diligent little worker. Monkey brought his hands together for a bow, but before he could even finish it, Mr. Ping snatched him into a tight embrace as well; though it earned a small yelp of surprise, it was quickly returned by the simian with a second laugh.

"There, there," Ping sighed happily as he patted his back a few times. "If you're going to be part of the family now, you get Mr. Ping's Special Family Goose Hugs!"

"Sounds good to me," he answered with a grin.

Po could barely contain his giddy excitement at the sight of his father and partner getting along so well. For years, Mr. Ping had known Monkey as both a kung fu master and a comrade to his son, but it had only been in recent months that Po had decided to open up to his dad further. The bear slapped his hands loosely over his mouth in efforts to keep from squeaking like a baby.

Then Mr. Ping released the hug and stepped back to wave them off. "Goodnight, you two, I'll see you soon!"

"Goodnight, Dad! Love you!" Po squeaked.

Monkey waved back. "Goodnight, sir!"

"Love you too, son! And you, Monkey!" the bird replied as he turned to waddle back to his shop, leaving them to their journey home to the Jade Palace.

For a moment, the two masters only stood where they were silently. Then Master Monkey took a deep, satisfying breath, and turned to his partner in glowing triumph. His smile, however, instantly vanished at the downright pitiful expression of sorrow he was met with. Monkey blinked widely and flinched back a bit, completely taken off guard.

"P-Po!?"

The puzzled ape very hesitantly edged forward again, but stopped short as the Dragon Warrior opened his mouth.

"Monkey," he began softly, his tone just as pitiful as the look on his face. He could barely make eye contact as he struggled to gather his next words. "I...am so sorry."

Monkey blinked again. " _Sorry?_ For what!?"

Po sank into his own befuddlement at the response, eyes wide. He looked around before meeting the other's gaze again with a shrug of irony, then he exclaimed, "What do you mean 'for what', I ruined our date! We weren't supposed to stay here all night! We were supposed to be out talking and laughing and having fun and...stuff."

The bear shook his head as he trailed off and looked away again.

"Hey, now you wait just a minute!" Monkey took over suddenly. He hopped in closer to his comrade and met him with a reprimanding nudge. "Our date hasn't even happened yet!"

"Ugh, yeah, because I totally messed up our plans!"

"Noooo, because we _moved_ our plans, so we could help your dad! Nobody ruined anything, it's fine! We did what we were supposed to do tonight. And besides," the ape continued with a cheesy eyeroll before he gently caught Po's hand. "I'm just happy to spend time together no matter what we do."

Po's eyes widened at the words as a rosy blush crept over his face. Bashfully, he tucked his chin down a bit, but was unable to stop the soft smile his lips grew into; and soon, his worries were forgotten. He agreed, "...Yeah."

With a submissive sigh, the bear continued. "I mean, I'm _really_ glad we stayed and helped. It meant a _lot_ to him, and I don't really get to that much anymore." His green eyes widened suddenly in excitement. "And he totally loves you so much now, he told me to bring you more often! ...I think you impressed him with your tail thing."

Monkey giggled with pride. "I'm pretty partial to that one, myself!"

"I know, it's the coolest ever!" Po exclaimed.

A short moment of peace passed between them before Po looked up to the clear night sky, and sighed again, contentedly. He then said, "I still kinda wish we had somewhere fun to go tonight instead of just back home to sleep."

Monkey brought a finger up to his chin and thoughtfully averted his gaze. Some seconds and a quiet "hmmm" later, he looked to his partner again with a bright, mischievous grin.

"Come with me!" he answered.

Grabbing Po's hand, the ape led them off to find the stairs leading back up to the Jade Palace. Up they climbed, rest stops and all, until they reached the top; but instead of heading to the barracks, Monkey veered to the path that led to the training hall. As they arrived and quietly entered into the moon-bathed courtyard, Po's curiosity finally got the better of him.

He whispered, "Why are we here?"

Monkey made sure the gate was closed behind them, before he turned to meet the panda's gaze, oceanic hues riddled with the same mischievous glint from earlier. He smiled as he took Po's hands and a few steps back to rest against the courtyard wall.

"Because no one would think to find us here," he said plainly through a giggle. Gently, he pulled Po in closer and reached his arms up to wrap around his neck. Po blushed as the space between them grew thin; and as their foreheads met, the weakness in his chest returned with a vengeance. He knew what was next, and even before its time, it was more than welcome. Monkey purred on, "Now kiss me, Panda."

Breath taken, Po melted obediently into the shared mouthful and all too perfect ending to such an unceremonious day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...It's called subtext, Steven. 
> 
> Just thought I'd shift the timeline a bit. My apologies if anything is confusing; I know I left some important questions unanswered, but it's all part of the plan. :') 
> 
> Enjoy!


	6. Seriously Starving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-KFP3. The Dragon Warrior hungers.

Master Monkey kicked and clobbered with ferocious determination against the steel-studded, wooden crocodile warriors of the Jade Palace training hall. He'd been at it for a good twenty minutes now, alone so that the gauntlet was all his for the taking. It wasn't the most common occurrence, as the students of the Jade Palace so often trained all together; but sometimes, one just needed a relieving session of solitary pummelling.

Dodging and defending with skilled precision as he fought off each return blow, Monkey finally launched himself up and into the air, flipping backwards and landing in a perfect crouch a few feet away to catch his breath. For just a moment, he rested. Then it was back to business... Or, it would have been, had the sudden, prickling feeling of lurking eyes upon him not stopped him dead in his tracks.

The ape instinctively held onto his next inhale.

Ever so cautiously, he rose up again. He slowly scanned the room around him; though despite the eerie chill that ran up his spine, he saw nothing out of the ordinary...which simply _couldn't_ be the case! Monkey's brow furrowed with dissatisfaction. Hesitantly, he tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling, before lowering it to pivot his line of sight around him one more time, as he quietly stepped along to face the opposite way.

Again...nothing.

Still, he waited in the silence for any small clue that he might not be alone.

Seconds became moments, and moments inevitably slowed down, until the suspicious simian brought his gaze down to the wooden floor in reluctant reconsideration. Which was his first big mistake. For no sooner than he'd allowed such subtle doubts to creep their way in and lower his savvy guard _juuuust_ enough, the ultimate consequence was upon him. Quite literally.

With one swift attack, Monkey was slammed flat to the ground, wind and a sharp, shocked grunt knocked right out of him by two hundred pounds of...panda...of course. When exactly Po had gotten so much _better_ at sneaking up on him, he still didn't really know.

Nor did he find even a second's single chance of rebuttal; for before the idea could enter his mind, an all-too-familiar sensation of heavy paws bedding into his own, and soft lips brushing _ever_ so gingerly against his neck brought upon thoughts of a _much_ more...carnal nature.

A reflexive hitch of breath followed as the now utterly helpless one arched into the other's enthralling actions with a muffled yelp, eyes rolling shut. In response, the Dragon Warrior smiled, and slowly trailed his parted muzzle higher, spilling a hot breath onto his captive along the way up. Monkey shuddered underneath him; his red cheeks grew even hotter as Po continued with a delicate lick, earning him yet another shaken whimper from the frenzied ape.

Finally, the panda came to rest gently against his partner's ear. Then, in a hushed and _unbearably_ lustful tone, he whispered. "Wanna go out for noodles? It's half-price for couple’s night."

Monkey froze.

Eyelids fluttered open in stunned confusion as all the fantasies he'd anticipated only mere seconds ago were mercilessly snatched right out from under him. Speechless, he hesitantly turned to meet the culprit's gaze. Po looked back with a deviously playful grin, held through a bite to his own lower lip.

Monkey blinked, mouth agape.

"What?" he finally said.

Po held his breath. After a moment of deathly silence, it was all he could do to stifle the humored snort that followed. His partner, however, didn't budge from his state of complete bewilderment.

Until he choked, "Are you serious right now?"

The bear immediately wiped any and all signs of amusement from his face. He then answered the question in the plainest tone he could ever hope to muster. "Seriously starving."

"...For noodles."

Po stared at him blankly. "Uhhh. Yeah."

Blushing furiously, Monkey then heaved a sigh of complete and utter frustration. "You!" He began, before he rolled his eyes and proceeded to sit upright, shoving his silly tease of a boyfriend away. "Get _off_ me!"

But almost as soon as he'd done it, the ape softened right back again at the guilt-stricken little half-smile on Po's face. He shortly released a second, much gentler sigh, then raised an eyebrow with a smile of his own. Rolling onto his knuckles, Monkey hopped a bashful step forward to fill the space he'd made between them.

"Love you," Po sheepishly said through a giggle.

Monkey only shook his head; pink cheeks resurfaced as he tried (and failed) very hard not to let his own amused grin show. "Agh, whatever... Let's go get noodles."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VERY special thanks to my friend Dustin for blessing me with this little gem of an idea. :3
> 
> Haha, enjoy!


	7. Answers & Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-KFP2. Viper is questioned.

The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior were all comfortably seated around the dining table of the student barracks' kitchen for their final meal of the day. 

Except, it was actually only Tigress, Crane, Viper, and Mantis...for their other two team members were missing in action...again. The four who  _ had  _ actually shown up on time for dinner sat in somewhat of an awkward silence, as they looked around at each other, and down at the six lovely plates of food that had been so kindly prepared for them by the palace servant, Zeng.  _ One  _ of the the four, however, was rather nervous compared to the others; for she had only just learned the full truth behind  _ why  _ exactly they had been seeing so little of Master Monkey and Master Panda. 

Now normally, Viper was quite good at keeping secrets to herself! It was only natural, being the intuitively soft-spoken and respectful serpent she was. But  _ this  _ secret, tonight, she couldn't even begin to push such intriguing information to the back of her mind while she sat around her own...and Monkey's and Po's...closest companions. So she sat nervously, and scarcely breathed, lest her next breath be the one that brought upon her undoing. 

Lucky for her, another would break the smothering silence first, for in contrast to Viper's bashful hesitance,  _ he _ was thoroughly annoyed, and quite sick of holding his tiny tongue. 

"I can't believe this," Mantis huffed. "Of  _ course  _ they're not here! Again! This is the  _ third _ night in a row! ...Isn't anyone else getting sick of this?" When he was met with silence, he then continued to vent his frustrations. "We barely see them anymore outside of the training hall! And now they don't even have the courtesy to show up for dinner? I mean, what gives!?"

After a moment, Crane shrugged his wings. "I...guess they're just busy with the extra training thing they do now. They'll show up eventually."

Mantis groaned, "Ugh, that's not the point! They could at _least_ let us know if they're gonna miss _dinner!_ Or y'know, maybe talk to us at _all_ once in awhile? I don't care if they're training, it's ridiculous. Even _I'm_ more polite!"

Tigress and Crane exchanged glances from across the table before looking back to the disgruntled insect. Sulking now, Mantis only slouched on one of his claw-thingies as he picked at his plate of tofu. His striped comrade then, after a short moment of hesitance, opened her mouth to speak. 

"And you're sure you might not be taking it a little personally?" she carefully asked.

Instantly, his irate gaze shifted up to meet Tigress' own cool composure. She, of course, didn't budge. Mantis held the eye contact for a good few seconds, before he rolled his eyes and continued his sulking. "Whatever. I'm just tired of them ignoring us constantly." He muttered, "Jerks."

"Mantis, it's  _ really  _ not that simple!" 

Viper finally chimed in rather passionately, but it wasn't until she saw the look of pure befuddlement her bug friend held in return that she realized just  _ how  _ defensive her statement had sounded. She blinked as a dark shade of pink tinged her cheeks, and clamped her mouth shut again. Slowly, the snake looked up to her two other comrades, who were both frozen in the middle of the bites of food they'd been taking, staring right back at her with wide, curious gazes. Viper blinked again; then she forced a bright smile, and quickly turned her attention back to her own food. 

"Okay," Tigress began with a knowing little smile of her own. She placed her chopsticks down before she bluntly continued. "What do you know, then?"

"Yeah!" Mantis encouraged the interrogation. "What does that even  _ mean?" _

Viper kept her face down, blushing furiously both from the questions she was being asked, and the answers she so very well knew. Still, no matter what she knew, she would not bring herself to disclose a friend's secrets without permission. "N-Nothing!" she tried desperately to sound innocent...even if she also knew the attempt was indeed a hopeless endeavor if there ever was one. "I-I was just, saying...they're not... _ jerks!  _ I'm sure they have perfectly legitimate reasons for being out tonight!"

"But you  _ didn't  _ say that. Until just now," Crane joined in.

"And why are you like, beet red?" asked Mantis. "You've  _ gotta _ know something! You only act this weird when you know something!"

_ Ugh, that's so not true!  _ Viper's cheeks grew even darker in frustration at the comment.  _ I know stuff all the time! ...I know more than you, that's for sure.  _ She closed her eyes and took a few silent, deep breaths to calm herself.  _ If only this one wasn't so...ergh. _

Viper huffed out her last exhale and finally raised her head back up earnestly. "Look, it's really not my place to be having this discussion."

"So you DO know something!" Crane's eyes lit up. 

"Aghh!" the serpent exclaimed in exasperated defeat, throwing her head back before she fell against the back of her chair. Crane and Mantis went quiet alongside Tigress now, patiently awaiting the coming revelation. But Viper only shook her head with a soft groan, eyes shut. "Fine! Yes, okay. I know something... But I'm still not sharing it, so you can  _ stop _ badgering me."

Mantis loudly replied, "Awh, what, are you kidding!?"

" _ No,"  _ she answered sternly.

Crane sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. Tigress, on the other hand, only averted her gaze thoughtfully. While she couldn't be perfectly certain, she  _ did  _ certainly have the upper hand from relevant knowledge that had already been revealed to her, and an inkling based upon it. Frankly, it wasn't that difficult to put the pieces together. The feline's lips curled into a rather satisfied smile.

She then said plainly, "I think I know."

Viper blinked in surprise, lifting herself up again. 

"What!? How!?" Crane exclaimed. 

Swiftly, the cat pushed her chair back as she stood up from the dining table; and summoning her utmost aloof disposition, headed for the doorway that led back to their rooms. Crane and Mantis exchanged glances of shock once she'd left them. The avian master then looked back to the doorway, and stood from his own seat to follow after her. 

Mantis barked, "Hey! Wait for me!"

Once he'd hopped off as well, Viper shortly released a  _ very  _ much needed sigh of relief, and sank back down against her chair with a grateful smile. She made a mental note to thank Tigress for the little diversion later. Even if...little she knew...it technically hadn't been  _ just  _ that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, we continue the events of chapter 1! Many of these scenes will probably be expanded upon eventually, as they're all from the same story I've got in my head. I really had fun with this one, even if it's rather short. Hope y'all like it too!
> 
> Enjoy!


	8. Something Kind of Important

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-KFP2. Inner peace goes a long way.

"Okay...alright...inner peace...yeah! Inner peace."

The Dragon Warrior repeated the little mantra softly to himself over and over, accompanied by the obligatory deep breaths of meditation and focus, as he marched onward to his father's noodle shop. Other than a relatively anxious mind and the barest truths of his heart, he carried nothing along with him today.

It was a  _ very  _ important day for Master Po, you see, as in only a few more moments' time, he would be braving the greatest precipice of his entire twenty years of life on earth thus far. Or at least...one that sure  _ felt  _ like it. 

Which was precisely why the panda had chosen to take his journey at such an early hour, when the valley would be nice and quiet, and most importantly, when Dragon Warrior Noodles & Tofu would be nice and empty. Being the early bird he was, of course, Mr. Ping would no doubt be awake, already preparing for the coming lunch time -- the perfect opportunity for his son's plans to be realized.

As Po grew nearer and nearer to the shop's entrance, so did his nervous heart beat faster. 

And when he finally arrived, wide-eyed and finger-fiddling, all he could do not to turn right back around was remind himself why he was there in the first place. 

_ I can't keep hiding this from him... He's my dad... He's the most important person in my life...and the only one who still doesn't know.  _

_ He needs to know. He’s gotta know. _

"Alright," he said with another deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before he stopped his fidgeting, and lowered his arms down to rest at his sides. Then he affirmed his next step. "I got this."

After the words, Po opened his eyes up again with a renewed air of peace. Though his confidence in the coming situation may have remained a little shaken, fearlessness was his weapon of choice. So without anymore hesitation, he stepped forth into the unknown, holding onto the faith alone that everything would be okay, and nothing could ever come between the bond he and his dad shared.

Mr. Ping nearly jumped out of his feathers at the sight of his son approaching. 

"Po!? What are you  _ doing  _ here so early?" he exclaimed in wondrous curiosity. The goose dropped his lunch preparations and hurried out to the restaurant area to meet him with a warm, cuddly embrace. He stifled a giggle before he continued, "Not that I mind, of course!"

Po chuckled softly as he hugged his father back. "Hey, Dad. Sorry to interrupt your morning..."

"No, no,  _ no!  _ It's  _ always  _ a pleasure to see you, Son!" he immediately retorted, but stopped shortly at the recognition of the timidity with which his son had spoken. Mr. Ping instinctively looked up to meet Po's gaze. Po quickly returned the gaze with a rather awkward grin. After a few seconds of silence, the bird raised his brow in question. "Is...something wrong?"

Po clamped his mouth shut at the words, averting wide eyes as he held onto his next breath. Then he released it with a heavy sigh, and tried to answer his dad. "Not... _ wrong,  _ but...I do have something I need to talk to you about. Something...kind of important."

Though a worried glint passed in his own eyes, Mr. Ping quickly shook it away in favor of staying strong to comfort his son. He looked around the area before taking a couple hops over to the nearest restaurant table and patting the wooden surface gently. 

"Come sit down, and tell me everything," he said. 

The panda blinked. He then softened as his father settled down on one end of the table and met his nervous gaze with a welcoming smile. Taking another breath, he too looked around just to make sure the restaurant was still empty (despite knowing full well that they weren't open yet), and then bravely, he joined Mr. Ping. 

They sat on opposite ends of the table in silence for a good moment. Po kept his gaze down, trying his best to hide the warmth he felt growing in his cheeks, as he scraped at his mind for just the right words to say. When the silence only continued, Mr. Ping could do little else to keep his own concern at bay. 

Carefully, he reached his wing further over the tabletop, and softly inquired, "Son?"

Po flinched ever so slightly, thoughts interrupted; but he then took a decidedly deep breath, and lifted his face up again to meet his father's worry-riddled eyes. 

"Dad," he boldly sighed his response. "I'm gay."

Ping blinked in surprise. 

Though all too quickly, his son would realize that while the goose was indeed taken aback by the spilled information, his reasons for being so weren't  _ quite  _ the ones he had anticipated. Mr. Ping opened his mouth to speak, but instead averted his gaze, before melting into a sigh of his own.

"Oh, Po," he breathed through a gentle laugh. He lowered his head down in attempts to stifle the laugh further, shaking it a bit. 

The Dragon Warrior, on the other hand, was speechless, wide-eyed, and arguably even  _ more  _ taken aback than he'd imagined his father being at the news he'd just given. He nearly choked on his next words. "Dad, why are you  _ laughing!?" _

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Mr. Ping raised his wings up and out in front of himself as he desperately tried to regain his composure, and looked back up to his son with a very repentant smile. "I know it must have taken a  _ lot _ of courage for you to come tell me this, but, son, I, I  _ know  _ you're gay. _ " _

Dumbfounded, the panda's jaw dropped even further. "Wh-What!?" he coughed. "When-- H-How long have you known!?"

The bird clamped his beak shut and bashfully averted his gaze. He then softened into a much gentler smile, and made eye contact once more before nudging his head in the direction of the kitchen, and standing up from his seat at the table to relocate their conversation. 

"Come with me," he said. 

Po readily obliged, well determined to get the answer to his question, even if he had no idea what could possibly be relevant in their home. Once they were inside and upstairs in Ping's room, the bird looked around in thoughtful scrutiny, obviously searching for something. 

"Now where did I put those...hmmm," he mumbled quietly to himself as he went digging through the belongings that rested in various places. Po watched attentively as he continued hunting around, and finally stopped to voice a triumphant "ahah!" before turning to face him with a handful of scrappy-looking papers. 

The panda tilted his head, eyes blinking wide at the sight of them; he couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the colorfully tacky state of the papers felt incredibly familiar to him. Mr. Ping smiled warmly before directing his attention down again. As he waddled closer to his son, he flipped through the papers, until he paused to slip one out from the stack. For just a second, he gazed at it lovingly, and then passed it over to his son. 

And in somewhat of a doting tone, he said, "I'm sure you remember  _ Qing Yuan?" _

Po almost couldn't believe his eyes at the sight of the messy little artwork he now held in his hands after so many years long forgotten. It was one of his very own, and very first childhood drawings, featuring himself, and his very first childhood crush -- a pangolin named Qing Yuan, who probably hadn't even remembered Po's name after that one year they'd had together in the same class -- holding hands.

He began in amazement. "I...I do! Qing Yuan, my..." 

"First love?" Ping finished the statement with a cheesy grin. 

Suddenly blushing furiously, Po coughed, choking on his next words. "I-It wasn't like  _ that,  _ he...he barely knew I existed." The bear kept his gaze locked on the sloppy masterpiece of his passionate, young heart for a moment more, along with the memories that accompanied it. He then breathed a rather nostalgic sigh, and bashfully looked away as he held the drawing back out to his dad.

"Well, that sure never stopped you from talking about him all the hours of the day," Mr. Ping replied with a giggle. He too looked on at his son's baby-crush art for another short, forlorn moment. Then he continued, "Or any of those other boys you liked so much."

Po softened sheepishly, a tinge of pink still coating his cheeks. "I guess it  _ was  _ kinda obvious then, huh?"

"When you were  _ that  _ age, yes -- all you ever wanted to do was hold hands with boys!" the bird sighed, shaking his head knowingly before he smiled back up at his son. "It was really quite cute. Then one day, when you got a little older, you stopped being so open about your crushes. I...probably should have said something, but...I didn't want you to feel like you  _ had _ to talk to me about it if you weren't ready to."

"So...you didn't mind?" Po blinked, emerald eyes wide with wonder.

His father lifted his wings in a shrug before answering matter-of-factly, "Of course not! What good would 'minding' do? Liking boys never changed the fact that you were my perfect little son! Always so sweet and helpful! Especially with noodles!"

At such words, Po could have melted right on the spot. 

"Aw, Dad," he shakily sighed, speechless for a moment as he fought against the stinging shimmer that now formed in his eyes. He stifled a laugh. "I... This is... Wow, I, I don't even know what to say. You're...amazing."

"I try," the goose replied. "Now come here, my Xiao Po! No tears today!" 

Mr. Ping wrapped his son up in a tight, feathery hug, to which the bear cuddled into more than happily, squeezing him back. Po lifted his father up off the floor to hold onto the embrace a moment longer; he finished with another contented breath of air before he lowered him down again, and proceeded to wipe the mist from his eyes. 

"Alright! I must get back to my kitchen duties!" Ping then said. As he headed back downstairs, he turned to Po in question. "Is there anything else you needed to talk about, Son?"

Po shook his head no and followed after his father down to the kitchen and restaurant. Mr. Ping immediately went to setting up his big broth pot, but not without also continuing his next endeavor of insatiable curiosity. He said, "Then if you don't mind, now that we can finally talk about these things, I have one little question for  _ you." _

Quickly, the panda moved in to help with the broth pot, as he wanted nothing more right now than to show his immense appreciation for having the best dad in the whole universe ever. 

"Yeah? What is it?" he asked.

With a rather smarmy smile, Mr. Ping narrowed his eyes, and edged closer to whisper his next reply to his son. "...Is the monkey your boyfriend?"

Po froze. 

Eyes wide and cheeks red, he only stared down at the pot for a moment of complete and unexpected shock. Then he blinked, and lifted his gaze up to meet his father's, mouth agape. Until finally, he sighed out a nervous laugh. "Okay. So, I guess you know everything!"

"Well, I did raise you," the goose shrugged. "Aaaand to be honest, subtlety has never been one of your strongest traits."

Po slumped into a rather sheepish frown at the words. "So I've heard. A lot."

Mr. Ping then chuckled, and almost apologetically, lifted a wing to give his son a few loving pats to the arm. He looked away for a few seconds before continuing with a new proposition.

"Tell you what. How about you stay for a bit? If you can, of course. We'll cook together like old times, and you can tell me all about your monkeyfriend! ...It's been so many years since I've gotten to hear you talk about the boys you like," he said with another, much softer laugh as he melted into a wistful smile.

In slight surprise, Po blinked again. But quickly, he returned the smile with a bashfully thankful one of his own. It was getting hard to imagine himself any more blessed than he was now, what with the life of his dreams, inner peace, the best partner he could ask for, and...a dad who was more than happy to be a part of all of it. He couldn't have refused the offer if he'd wanted to.

He replied, "Y'know...I think I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has been in my head for a long time, and I'm super happy it's finally done! Hopefully some of those questions from chapter 5 are answered now, haha.
> 
> Enjoy, my friends!


	9. Yesterday is History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-KFP2. No summary this time, for reasons. Rip.
> 
> Content/Trigger Warning:  
> Mention of Drug & Alcohol Use

The distinct sound of creaking wood filled the air as a large, bendy tree was pulled back by two playful-spirited kung fu warriors. Masters Monkey and Panda were at it again down by the River of Radiant Funtimes, as Po had so delightfully taken to calling their most favored place of amusement. And with the tree held down, a rather ridiculous, albeit revered tradition resumed between the two silly friends.

"Ready!?"

"On three!"

"THREE-AAAAAAA!" they cried out together as Monkey pushed the tree up juuuuust enough to send it springing upward in its natural thrust, which in turn flung his weighty companion upward and soaring in an arched trail that ended with a loud _sploosh!_  into the body of water below.

Remnants of the forceful impact rained down over the area, drenching the golden-furred ape who giggled with utmost childish glee from his station. With a joyful flick of his long tail, he then leapt to the riverbed to greet the one who resurfaced from his plunge a few seconds later.

Po burst up from the water gasping for breath after which he immediately went coughing his head off through rollicking laughter.

He exclaimed, "WOO-OOOHOHH! AhH, that was the best one _yet!_  Monkey! One more time!"

Monkey picked up his own giggles again at the words, and as his sodden playmate waded his way to meet him at the river's edge, he replied. "No way! It's nearly dark already, we'll be freezing our butts off all the way home if we don't start drying off now."

"AAHHHWW, Monkeyyy!" The bear's loud groan of dissatisfaction caused the other to snort as he held in another laugh.

"C'monnnn, get _out!"_

"UuuHHHH," Po threw his head back with a sigh. Rather than keep arguing, the simian master grabbed onto his arm, and began to pull him out of the river. The next passing moment saw them standing side by side on the damp shore, as Po preferred not to inconvenience his friend too much; but rather, just enough to relish in their silly teasing.

Monkey said, "Alright, now get yourself dry."

Suddenly donning a rather mischievous mien, the Dragon Warrior dropped to all fours and proceeded with a vigorous shake off, flinging droplets of water every which way.

"Hey!" the splattered one voiced reprehension, but not without a giggle at his teammate's antics.

They finally settled down to bask in nature's remaining light as sunset approached. Though there wasn't nearly enough of it left to dry them completely, what little they could get would have to do. Po and Monkey had indeed had another glorious afternoon of fun at least, mixed with a bit of training, but they were both quite aware of the fact that their priorities were not _exactly_ aligned as they often claimed them to be.

Especially not in very recent days.

For as long as Po had been tightly holding onto the deepest hidden feelings of his enamored heart, the truth was, he was no longer the only one with a secret.

"We should probably start heading back," Monkey suggested once dusk was upon them, despite every opposing emotion towards it. The lateness at which they'd been staying out together was at a steady increase -- and honestly, neither master had stopped to pay it a second thought.

It was somewhat of an odd, unspoken form of dating at times, equipped with all the bashful blushing moments and oh so delicate flirting alike. The only difference being that one of them remained none the wiser to it. My, how the tables had turned.

 

* * *

 

_"What are these?"_

_"H-Hey! Give those back!"_

_"Poems!? You write poems!? HOOHOOO!"_

_"aAAAAA Monkey c'mon!"_

_"AheHEM."_

_"Don't you DARE!"_

_"'Oh magical dumpling'..."_

_"STOPIT!"_

_"'Of yummy perfection'..."_

_"MONKEY!"_

_"pFGHHFTT! This is what you write about!?"_

_"HHHNNNN!"_

_"Well I guess it's not that surprising. Let's see what else you have!"_

_"ACTUALLY, LET'S NOT."_

_"Ohhh, Po, it's just a little fun!"_

_"For you, maybe! HIYAH!"_

_"WHOA-AHAA! Nice try!"_

 

* * *

 

From the day it'd happened, the playful primate hadn't had a lick of luck getting the memories of the unforeseen little incident out of his head -- the moment he'd discovered his best friend's nethermost love-smitten sentiments.

 

* * *

 

_"Get back here!"_

_"Heehee! Catch me if you can, Panda!"_

_"I'm warning you, you're gonna regret it so much when I do!"_

_"OhoH, we'll see about that!-- Wha!? oOuaFHHHGH! Urgh..."_

_"Ah! Monkey! Oh my gosh, are you okay!?"_

_"Ughh... Y-Yeah! I'm, fine!"_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Yeah, sure!"_

_"...Good. I'll take_ **_those!_ ** _Thank you very much!"_

_"Aheh."_

 

* * *

 

"Okay, so let's get going then!"

Monkey was suddenly plucked from his mind's reflections and returned to present reality. He blinked before turning towards the saccharine voice responsible to see a pudgy angel smiling expectantly back at him. A faint blush began its creeping trail over the simian master's cheeks, but he quickly fought against it with a cheery grin.

He then hopped to his feet. "Right."

The dusk had settled winsomely into a warm and clear night. As Monkey and Po started their journey home to the Jade Palace, the bright twinkling of starlight through the tree branches above could be seen, and a gentle summer breeze brought upon a soft rustling in the foliage. It was quiet and peaceful. A perfect night, thought the blithesome panda bear, for stargazing!

"Ahh! I know we have to get home and all, but man wouldn't it be awesome to lie under this sky for a bit!? It's so perfectly starry!" he exclaimed rather passionately.

His cunning companion came to an abrupt halt at the pseudo-suggestion, and considered it for a moment. It was true they needed to get home...but it was also true that missing out on a marvelous starry sky would be quite a shame. Not to mention it was a most legitimate excuse to enjoy each other's company for just a little while longer.

And it would make Po happy. Which, frankly, outshone all the other alternatives sensible and silly alike.

With a coltish glint in his eye, Monkey asked, "Is that what you wanna do?"

"Huh?" Po stopped as well to meet his friend face to face.

"Do you want to go stargazing?"

"I...yeah, I'd love to! But we're...aren't we..."

"Supposed to be at the palace? ...Yeah."

Po blinked. Rather than reply, he only narrowed his eyes at the words. Monkey's mouth then widened into a _ridiculously_ persuasive grin. Not that it took much at all to convince Master Panda to choose fun times with the crush over sleeping at the barracks, mind you. His little frown slowly curled upward to accompany enchanted bright eyes and blushing cheeks.

Monkey excitedly added, "Follow me!"

And with that, they were off.

The two adventurers soon found themselves a comfortable ways off from the palace trails, on a lush and grassy hilltop with a gloriously awe-inspiring view of celestial expanse. Monkey did not hesitate to release a heavy sigh of satisfaction as he allowed himself to collapse atop a rather thick patch of greenery. Po, on the other hand, couldn't have contained his excitement even if he'd been offered a whole pantry of magical dumplings!

"WhoAHAHAOA! This! Is incredible!" he circled about with his nose in the air in what appeared to be attempts to view all corners of the vast sky at once; but within seconds, he stumbled down next to his friend with a muffled _oof!_ and laughed it off just as well.

The ape giggled along with the other's antics before he replied. "It is, isn't it? I can't even remember the last time I went stargazing. Usually I'm asleep by now."

Po gasped. "That's terrible!"

"Being asleep?"

"No! Not stargazing!"

"Oh," Monkey snorted.

"My dad always used to take me out to see the Dragonstars so we could ask for good fortune to come upon the shop," the bear continued with a chuckle. "Pretty sure that was the only part he cared all that much about, but I loved _everything_ about the night sky! It was the most awesome thing I could imagine as a kid! And it was always there for me."

Curiously, the primate asked, "Did it work?"

"Well, we've never had _bad_ fortune."

Monkey considered this. He then gave a slight shrug and nodded in agreement. A few seconds brought them both gazing upward again in a peaceful silence, which lasted about a minute, until the Dragon Warrior turned to his date once more, mouth agape.

"Anyway, thanks a lot for bringing me out here!" he sighed into a bashful smile. "I dunno how I managed to find a best friend as totally awesome as you."

Now adrift in his own complicated reminiscing about fortune, feelings, life's mysteries, past, present, and future alike, Master Monkey was delayed a bit before he acknowledged the kind sentiments Po had given him. Hesitantly, he blinked himself back to earth, and then met the bear with a rather lost gaze. The pure admiration glistening in Po's emerald eyes was the icing on the cake.

And as the nerve to reconsider his next response somehow mysteriously escaped him, Monkey blurted out, "Y'know, I haven't...always been so great."

His comrade blinked in surprise, a little taken aback by the cryptic confession that came seemingly out of nowhere. Just as quickly, however, he softened into an air of comforting concern.

"Um, whaddaya mean?" he asked.

Monkey opened his mouth, but closed it with a sigh before he said anything else. He instead averted a conscience-stricken gaze and moved to push himself up from the ground and into a hunched-over seat, staring down at wrung hands in thought. Po did not hesitate to follow suit, eyes wide with what was growing fast into worry.

"Monkey?"

The ape shook his head in a quick attempt to clear it. "Sorry." He stifled a weak laugh. "It's just... It's kind of a long story."

Silence followed his reply for what seemed far too long. Until that sugar-sweet voice he'd grown to find so much comfort in broke through it with a compassionate sincerity that never failed to make his heart melt on the spot.

"Hey," Po softly assured him. "Whatever you need to say...I'm here for you."

With a gaze wide and almost child-like in trust, Monkey turned to look at his beloved friend again. The warm smile he was met with worked almost like a brightly burning paper lantern to the soul, effectively chasing every fleck of darkness away into nothingness. And he was certainly not the only one who could attest to the Dragon Warrior's seemingly otherworldly abilities to bless all who knew him.

Monkey found himself nearly breathtaken. Then with a newfound courage, and immense appreciation, he could do nothing but gently return the smile.

"Okay," he said. "Well... You see... Long before you or even Shifu and the others knew me... I was a very different person."

"Different...how?"

The ape braced himself with a deep inhale.

 

* * *

 

_Three days._

_A pair of oceanic hues stared wide and unblinking up into the shadowy ceiling of the Jade Palace's student barracks, their insomniatic owner no doubt the only one awake at such an unseemly hour. It had been three whole days. Master Comedian had barely slept a wink since his gracious invitation to stay as the founder of his very own style of kung fu, along with his four other comrades -- the newly dubbed Furious Five._

_Never before had he been so incredibly humbled by life's unexpected surprises. Nor so...utterly and miserably exhausted. But why, one might wonder. One would think that a young kung fu student would be out like a light even after a single day of training in a vigorous art form he'd only just begun. Alas, there was much about this young student that his new cohorts didn't know, and that would remain as such, if it were up to him._

_The ape finally blinked a few times as a familiar tremor rippled throughout his restless body. A hitch of breath followed the shiver, before he licked his lips and swallowed in efforts to fight the almost painful dryness in his mouth, to no avail. How he'd even held on this long, he still hadn't a bloody clue, other than the beautiful distraction of actually having something worthwhile to focus on for once in his wretched life, perhaps. But even that one was steadily growing in insufficiency._

_Tightly, Monkey shut his eyes for a moment, and breathed._

_When he opened them up again, he silently thanked the universe that he was alone in the cradling darkness of his room, where no one could see the excruciatingly painful guilt that riddled his gaze. He then released a shaky sigh, and whispered into the air around him. "Mother...I'm sorry."_

_Hesitance lasted only another moment before the simian ever so quietly rolled from his place of rest and settled onto his feet. He took a deep inhale, and held his breath before tiptoeing across the floor of his room. Upon reaching the door, he gently pushed it ajar, and poked his head out to survey the area. Not a soul in sight, nor a single indication that anyone else was awake; perfect. Soundlessly, Monkey let his held breath go again._

_He then stepped out into the corridor of the barracks,_ **_very_ ** _careful to avoid the creakier boards as best he could, as he started his covert journey to the kitchen. For the past two nights, he had resisted every brutal urge to sneak down and scour each cupboard for even a small drop of the elixir he so desperately desired, even knowing full well that a drink alone would not satisfy all the cravings. But maybe..._

**_Just maybe if I can have something...to help me get to sleep...for now._ **

_It was a filthy excuse and he knew it, too. It also wouldn't do a thing to solve the real issue. Nor did either of these facts really matter, as the Jade Palace was_ **_not_ ** _home to any alcoholic beverages, which Monkey would very soon come to find out._

 _Crestfallen and no less jittery than before, the ape now stood alone and defeated in the empty kitchen._ **_I should have known,_ ** _he berated himself._ **_I'm such an idiot...what if I woke someone!?_ ** _The sudden onset of paranoia caused him to pivot towards the doorway with a start, despite no real evidence of having caused a disturbance. Wide eyes darted around as another shiver rode up his spine, and Monkey finally shut them tight, shaking his head in futile attempts to stifle the worsening anxiety._ **_I gotta get out of here._ **

_He shortly crept his way to the exit of the kitchen, but instead of retreating back to the safety of his quarters, the comedian headed for a much more authentic freedom._

_Out in the fresh air at last, he allowed himself a few deep, cleansing breaths without worry of being heard by his slumbering teammates._ **_But where do I go now?_ ** _he thought to himself as he lifted his head up to scan the palace grounds. Hesitantly, Monkey lowered down to his knuckles and carefully continued his way onward, until he came to rest at the top of the long trail of steps leading down to the Valley of Peace._

 _He stared down into the darkening descent in rather urgent confliction. Only a few days had he been a resident of this place, but he still needn't a soul's word to know that somewhere along the valley's dingiest backstreets lay exactly the fix his tormented body needed. His brow crinkled as shame washed over him again. There was still time to reconsider! He could head back now, return to the barracks like nothing happened, and resume all furious efforts to_ **_not_ ** _claw his own face off amidst the withdrawal._

_Or...he could fix it._

_The simian took a deep breath, and weakly lifted a foot, ready to heed the cries of his disastrously impulsive nature; but just as he went to take that first step towards them, the mellifluous voice of a previously unnoticed bystander froze him dead in his tracks._

_"Going somewhere?"_

_Monkey nearly jumped out of his fur at such an unexpected address. Gasping, he swerved around to face none other than the ever-fanciful Grand Master Oogway, but not without a balance lost and a ridiculous scramble to find his feet again. The shock left him in a rather violent shudder -- as if he wasn't anxious enough already -- as he quickly fought to regain composure._

_He spluttered, "S-Sir!"_

_The old green one tilted his head curiously. When it was clear to him that the flustered ape was currently at a complete loss for any other words, he softened into a warm smile, after which a soft chuckle followed. "My sincere apologies, young warrior; I did not mean to frighten you!"_

_At the words, Monkey blinked in surprise, before directing his gaze down and away to hide the embarrassment that grew in color on his cheeks. With a moment of breathing, his shuddering gradually died down, though he still clung to himself nervously as he wracked his mind for how exactly he was going to explain his way out of this one. Or if that was even an option anymore._

_"It's alright, Master," he finally whispered a new reply despite the situation. "I-I'm...okay."_

_An awkward gesture of respect followed the statement as Monkey fumbled to catch his fist in an open palm. His reptilian superior continued to watch him patiently before dipping his head in response. He gently said, "Mmmm. That is a nice thought. But something tells me you are not as 'okay' as you'd like to be."_

_The ape quickly rose up again, eyes wide with fear at the question of what exactly the other meant to imply with such a statement; but when he opened his mouth to speak, he only found his breath caught in the back of his throat. Whether it was the withdrawal, the prickling pangs of guilt, or the bitter truth behind an old master's words, Monkey knew not. Perhaps it was everything._

_A tremble of his bottom lip brought his jaw to close. And as dark blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight, the miserable student suddenly collapsed in on himself with a stifled sob that, befitting him all too well, nearly sounded more like a laugh. But Oogway knew better._

_"There, there," he cooed, stepping closer to comfort his aggrieved companion with a tender touch to the arm. He then moved to guide him gently back over the top of the stairs, as he continued with an encouraging proposition. "Why don't you come sit down with me for a bit?"_

_Against further unsuccessful attempts to suppress the evidence of his deplorable state, Monkey could only accept the offer with a weakened nod. He allowed himself to be led._

 

* * *

 

Po breathed, entranced.

"So...you were an addict."

With a pitifully ironic half-smirk, Monkey answered, "I was a lot of things."

Po hesitated.

"So...how did you get out of it?"

With due consideration, Monkey shifted a moon-kissed gaze back up to meet the panda's own. Then he continued his tale.

 

* * *

 

_Over the course of their journey, Monkey gradually managed to find stability again; or at least, something akin to it. It had been quite some time since he'd last had a good cry. Much more naturally came the comedian's extraordinary gift of laughing in all faces of fear and tragedy alike. Which was one of the biggest reasons for the excruciating inner turmoil he dealt with. How could one with such a gift as his have such immense and recurring difficulty with such a contradicting pitfall? Answers escaped him always._

_But perhaps, he simply hadn't been searching in the right places._

_As the chosen location for the Grand Master's unrevealed plans came into view, his simian acquaintance blinked shining eyes wide with wonder. They had arrived at the arborian sanctuary he would soon know well as the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom._

_Oogway chuckled at the young one's captivation. "I thought I would take us somewhere where we could find a little more tranquility. Beautiful, is it not?"_

_Monkey nodded before he replied with a soft sincerity. "Yes. It is."_

_The tortoise then went ahead to find a spot underneath the tree's sheltering canopy, into which he settled down and beckoned his doleful company to follow suit. Without question, the ape obliged. He continued gazing up from his new angle in shy admiration, until Oogway next spoke._

_"Now," the scaled prophet carefully began with his true intention. "Tell me, child. What ails you?"_

_Fear once again took hold at the direct inquiry, leaving its victim stiff and wide-eyed. Hesitantly, Monkey inhaled, and opened his mouth to speak; but when nothing came of it, he instead lowered his troubled gaze to meet his master's, and fought to keep a second display of grief at bay. He swallowed, and tried again to respond._

_"S-Sir," he breathed quietly. "You have no idea...how honored I am to be here. I can't thank you and Master Shifu enough for giving me an opportunity like this." Shakily, he sighed, and looked away as blue eyes began to shimmer. "But...sir, I have done nothing in my life worth honoring."_

_Oogway tilted his head thoughtfully. He asked, "What have you done, then?"_

_Shutting his eyes now, the simian kept his gaze averted. He lowered his head down to rest on a pair of laced hands, as if trying to hide away from the confessions he prepared to make. For a moment, he went silent. Then with a heavy heart, and a second of bated breath, he answered the question._

_"Far too much to even account for. I've lived with thieves, bandits, been one of them. I've used people, hurt people who didn't deserve it, including my own mother. My time on the streets has left me in a mess of addictions I still struggle with." Monkey paused. "I've been worse. Much worse. But, even now, I'm...I don't deserve your favor."_

_Silence followed the short story, in which the old reptile considered the facts he'd just been given. One thing, if nothing else, was for certain: Master Comedian had a lot to learn about the nature of the universe, the importance of the present, and the glorious destiny that would await him once he accepted it._

_With a nod, Oogway replied. "Hmmm. I see that you have many regrets, and much to conquer still." He paused. "But don't_ **_you_ ** _see, my fearful friend, that that is exactly why you are here?"_

_Monkey froze at the words of his superior, before lifting his face back up, donned with a wrinkled brow of utter befuddlement. He faltered, "W-What?"_

_The green one smiled knowingly, and gave a soft chuckle._

_He continued with sincerity. "Let me tell you something, Monkey..."_

 

* * *

 

"And that's when he told me something I've never forgotten," Monkey inhaled with a wistful smile, before he went on to quote the grand master's classic words of wisdom. "Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery-"

"BUT TODAY IS A GIFT! THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED THE PRESENT!" Po suddenly interjected, much to his comrade's surprise.

The ape blinked, his face very quickly shifting into a brilliant reflection of the bear's blindingly transparent enthusiasm, with a small twist of wonderment. He concurred, "YEAH!"

As if Po had forgotten that they were too far away to be heard by anyone at the palace, he then  lowered his voice back down a few notches, though his sprightly mien endured. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe Oogway said that to you! HE SAID THAT TO ME TOO!"

"Really!?" asked Monkey, still glowing back at him.

"Really!" Po squeaked a giddy reply. “It was the whole reason I stayed even after you guys, er, well, _Tigress_ , told me not to...at first.”

Now flicking his tail as he blushed from mild embarrassment and stifled an adorably awkward laugh at the memory, the simian master almost seemed to forget that he was not, in fact, a dazzled schoolkid hidden behind an unlikely crush. He paused for a short moment to find himself again. His excited companion, of course, beat him to it.

Po continued insightfully, “And _you_ stayed too! So...so he helped you too! Right?”

Proudly, Monkey nodded, straightening his posture _just_ a hair before he said, “He told me that if I was willing to put faith in my masters, and more importantly, to put faith in myself, they would help me find peace, and a path worthy of honor.” He looked away for a few seconds. “Honestly, at that point, I wasn't certain if I believed they could help me or not. I'm not even sure why I felt so moved to open up to Master Oogway the way I did that night. But...”

The ape trailed off in a mumble suddenly, and seemed to freeze in his thoughts. For a moment, he was silenced. Then with an inhale, his eyes grew wide in an expression nothing short of amazement. Po subsequently blinked into his own version, though much more from confusion than...whatever Monkey's epiphany represented.

“But...what?” he asked when his friend remained in the rather uncanny state of shock a moment more. “You alright?”

Just as quickly as it had come over him, it was gone with Po's next words. For the most part, anyway. Monkey shook his head, still in a bit of a breathless daze, before he replied. “Ah, yeah! Yeah! I just...it's nothing, I'm fine.” A slightly awkward pause followed. “Um. I was just saying that, even though I wasn't convinced that... Well...y'know that feeling when you just... _know_ that you should trust someone?”

Blue eyes full of adoration met unwavering green ones again. And Po melted into a tender smile.

“Yeah,” he softly agreed. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, THIS one sure took me long enough. I'm sure you can uh, see why. 
> 
> "Dragonstars" in this chapter is actually referring to meteor showers! I didn't know if peoples in Ancient China knew what meteors were, so I researched into it & came to find that they actually thought meteors were sky dragons that brought blessings or omens upon the land. Which is totally awesome, so I rolled away with it, ahah.
> 
> Anywho... Just so y'all know, the frequency of my updates will probably stay at a slower pace for the next few months, as my long-distance partner has just arrived for an extended holiday with me. I'll try my best to write when I can, and as always, I thank you for reading & hope you enjoy this rather...darker turn of my inspiration. :')
> 
> If you're looking for more reading material in the meantime, I very highly recommend Tomas the Betrayer's story "Heart of a Croc" over at fanfiction.net. It's one of the best fics I've read in years & full of great fun in all genres! You will not regret it!


	10. The Snake & the Mantis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-KFP2. Mantis faces some personal difficulties.

_It was just another typical day at the Jade Palace; and naturally, Master Mantis had been happily minding his own business with his own typical, harmless, Mantis affairs. He'd trained a bit, had a bit of lunch, done a bit of calligraphy, coddled over his precious set of acupuncture needles again...and of course, shared a few nice words with his beloved and trusted family in arms._

_He hadn't thought anything of it! It had been a beautifully peaceful day as far as he'd been concerned. Nothing out of the ordinary had come to pass, all was perfectly well, and everything had been going his way! Which was precisely why he'd been completely and utterly flabbergasted by the extremely unpleasant surprise that had next destroyed such a glorious day! And for what purpose!? He still hadn't a hint!_

_"WHAT is your PROBLEM!?"_

_Mantis turned in alarm at the all-too-familiar voice, to lay eyes upon none other than his closest, dearest, and most important friend -- or, the one who had held that position, for a time -- Master Monkey. The obviously enraged ape cast a deadly glare across the room, which left his decided opponent frozen in fearful shock for a brief moment._

_Oh, um, did I say fearful? Oh no. No. Scratch that, my bad. No matter what the danger, Master Mantis always remained headstrong and fully prepared to dodge every obstacle! Fear less was more like it! Yeah!_

_So after the brief moment of fearless shock in response to his unfortunate ex-bestie's confrontation, the insect then quickly regained his composure, and cleared his throat for a much more dignified response. "Monkey? I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about! What's going on!?"_

_"Oh, don't play dumb!" his aggressor continued with a nasty scowl. "I know you attacked my boyfriend! Po came to me in tears over what you did to him! How could you be so cruel all because I found someone that I care about way more than I ever cared about you!?"_

_Mouth agape at such a disastrously false accusation, Mantis didn't even know what to think! He choked on his next words, desperate to clear his name. "There must be a misunderstanding, I never--! Attack Po!? You really think I'd-- Monkey, I know you hate me now, but surely you can't actually believe I'd do something like that!? That's crazy!"_

_"Pssht! I'd believe Po over you any time, any day! You might as well save your breath! It smells like rotten flies, anyway." The satisfied simian then swiveled around to take his leave, but not before his flustered ex-friend gave one last attempt to set the ridiculously confusing mess straight again._

_"Monkey! Wait! Please! Can't we talk about this!?"_

_At the plea, Monkey swiftly turned to look back, sending a final, stabbing glare to the other master. He spat, "No! In fact, I never want to speak to you again! You're dead to me! Now leave me, and my boyfriend, alone! Forever!"_

_And with that, he coldly disappeared from the scene, leaving a crestfallen, confused, betrayed, and wrongly convicted Master Mantis alone to ponder the tragic biddings of the univ--_

 

* * *

 

"Oh, COME on! He did _not_ say that." Master Viper interjected her comrade's dramatic story with a hiss and a rather reprimanding look. She and Mantis sat just opposite one another in Viper's room, as yet another colorful session of 'therapeutic discussion' took place.

Taken aback, Mantis opened his mouth, fully prepared to rebut; but naturally, he stopped short. Then with a sigh of overwhelming defeat, he hung his head. Embarrassment graced a frustrated mien when he lifted it again to meet his friend's gaze.

"Well, it sure felt like it," he reluctantly mumbled.

Viper only rolled her eyes. "Mantis..." She gathered her thoughts in an attempt at both correction and understanding. "I know you're upset...and as your friend, I respect your feelings." She paused. "But they _don't_ give you permission to be a jerk, _or,_ twist reality to throw yourself a pity party."

If the insect was shocked before, he had absolutely no means of describing the state he was _now_ in. Jaw dropped, he struggled to find a response.

"I-I... Excuse me, _what?"_ he yawped.

The serpent blinked before she raised an eyebrow knowingly. Almost instantly, Mantis shrunk away, mouth clamped shut. And after a moment, he sighed...again.

"Ugh, I _know,_ okay! I just," he continued in exasperation. "I want my friend back."

Softening ever so slightly at the words, Viper held her tongue just a little longer still. She was no stranger to how unbearably childish her teammate could be sometimes -- indeed more often than not, his companionship was more like that of a full-time kid brother; though despite his ridiculous ways, nothing could mask the honesty in his voice, nor the pain in his eyes. So, for now at least, the sisterly snake opted to put her more berating side to rest.

Quietly, she took a breath.

Then she tilted her head. And with gentle concern, she asked, "What makes you so sure you don't have him anymore?"

Eyes wide, Mantis blinked up at her rather pitifully before attempting his next reply. As he gathered his words, he averted his gaze again, and a faint flush of dark green crept over his face.

"I... Viper, I think I really messed up this time," he finally admitted, chin tucked down sheepishly.

Gentle concern was very quickly replaced by surprise: azure eyes wide, Viper glanced to her right and left quickly before slithering in closer, and taking care to lower her voice.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding _,"_ she hissed, barely above a whisper but every bit as scolding as her tone only moments past. "What on _earth_ did you do now?"

The tiny one flinched, both from the bite in his therapist's voice and the simple fact that deep down, he knew good and well how much he deserved it, and even more. Nonetheless, the short burst of panic that followed sent him just about stumbling over himself in a desperate attempt of explanation.

"I-I didn't _do_ anything! I-I mean--I just--Po was just--agGHH!" Realization suddenly glistened in Viper's eyes at the words.

She shook her head as she held her tail up in-between them. "Okay, stop!" She then demanded answers. "So, this _is_ about Po? Did you seriously attack him!?"

"What!? No!" He immediately retorted. Then he paused. "Um. Well. Not technically."

After a quick few seconds of dumbfounded staring, Viper dropped her head down in exasperation. Shortly, she lifted herself back up to continue her interrogation. Which, quite frankly, was steadily growing even more frustrating than cold rocks on an overcast day. That bug was lucky she loved him more than his flaws.

She calmly spoke. "Why don't you tell me what _really_ happened, then?"

 

* * *

 

_And we return, to that lovely little morning, in which all was governed by peace and sincerity. A ray of sunshine cascaded down through the puffy, white clouds amongst the rest of the day's undeniable glory, and conveniently of course, reaching toward the earth's grassy surface as it fell directly over the universe's one and only Dragon Warrior._

_Master Panda stood elated and proud in his natural spotlight, the brightest of smiles upon his face in an all-too-complimentary fashion. And to top it off, just above and behind him, a vivid arch of many colors stretched plainly across the sky, beckoning one to gaze juuuust a little deeper to spot the magical sparkles that so charmingly adorned it._

_With a dainty skip, Po began to frolic._

_Over the flush, green hills and onward he frolicked, as he approached the Jade Palace grounds, though he did not stop until his jovial little stroll led him straight to the very location that one of its bravest and most beloved warriors had chosen for a pleasant morning training session._

_Which Po, of course, did NOT hesitate to interrupt._

_"Why HELLO, Mantis!" he called out in an overbearingly chipper tone._

_It was certainly no accident. Nevertheless, Master Mantis remained as kind and benevolent as always! Politely, he paused from his diligent routine to face the bear with a welcoming smile. (If any parts of said smile were not one hundred percent genuine, it was simply due to the slight discomfort brought on by Po's complete and utter disregard of personal boundaries.)_

_The insect replied, "Ah, good morning, Po. What brings you here today?"_

_"Ohhhhhh nothing!" Po said. He paused for a moment, gently rocking his weight back and forth in an innocent little pose, with a smile sweet as honey cakes. Then, he boldly continued. "I was just thinking about how totally_ **_AWESOME_ ** _it is that I stole your one and only best friend from you and turned him GAY for me!! And now we're having the time of our lives being GAY as heck!"_

 

* * *

 

"...Okay FINE it didn't happen like that!"

Viper, whose expression had only grown increasingly unamused over the course of her comrade's so very _delightful_ tale, suddenly widened her eyes in a bright and shameless display of feigned ignorance. "Gosh! You don't say."

The bug flinched.

After which he tucked his face down a bit with a soft groan, and an attempt to hide behind one of his claw-thingies. Viper softened rather quickly at the action, then took to looking around her room at the smooth textures of wood and paper for even a hint of the stillness she'd found herself in significantly shorter supply of here in recent times.

"I'm sorry." She spoke up again once she'd settled back into her naturally intuitive rhythm. "I didn't mean to upset you. I _must_ ask, though... When exactly do you plan on telling me the truth?"

Mantis remained silent.

Carefully, the snake continued, "I know it can be hard admitting to mistakes...but Mantis, it's truly the only way we can put them behind us and move forward to greater understanding and acceptance. You _are_ capable of these things!"

Still, nothing. Viper sighed.

"Or of course, we could just wait and have this discussion when you're feeling a bit more up to taking it seriously," she added.

"I don't wanna wait!"

"Alright. Are you going to talk to me, then?"

"Yes."

"Honestly?"

"...Yes."

With a soft breath of relief, she replied, "Thank you."

A few more seconds of quiet brought Mantis to finally lift his face up again. Though his posture remained on the sheepish side, he took the opportunity to clear his throat and attempt a little more confidence with his next words.

"So, where do I start?" he asked.

"Wherever you like." Viper answered plainly. The newfound sincerity in her friend's voice was as relaxing as a cup of warm jasmine tea, and almost instinctively sent the serpent settling down into a cozy coil across from him. "Though, the _beginning_ would be nice."

Sweetly, she smiled.

 

* * *

 

_"So uh, you gonna tell me what's been going on, or...?"_

_Monkey almost seemed frozen for a few seconds after the question. It was direct, to the point, and most importantly, completely unavoidable. Of course, he'd known exactly what he was getting himself into the second he'd let it slip to Viper._

_So without further ado, he cleared his throat, and took a breath in preparation to answer._

_"Ah, M-Mantis!" he said. Before continuing, he straightened his posture. And with the next blink, blue eyes widened a bit. "You...still don't know?"_

_"Um. No?"_

_"...Right."_

_"Gotta tell ya though - LOVE how everyone_ **_else_ ** _seems to know! Everyone but_ **_me_ ** _\- Mantis - your best_ **_friend!_ ** _Care to explain that one?"_

_"I-I..." the other master choked a bit. "Look, I know I've been avoiding you..."_

_"Thanks for clarifying," the bug interrupted dryly._

_Monkey froze again as a bit of color rose to his cheeks._

_He continued in a tone now laced with guilt. "Mantis, I'm trying to apologize."_

_Usually, this kind of sincerity was all it took to iron out things between the two friends. Today, however, Mantis was not looking for sincerity. He wanted answers._

_"You can do that_ **_after_ ** _you tell me why you've been avoiding me."_

_The simian's chest rose and fell with a quiet, defeated sigh. He lowered his gaze for a second, and with humility, he nodded._

_"Alright," he began shortly. "I know my word doesn't mean much at this point, but...Mantis, I_ **_wanted_ ** _to tell you about this sooner. Truly, I did. But... I didn't know how to. And I still don't really know how to say it. So I guess I'll just be frank." He lifted his face back up, and braced himself. "I'm dating Po."_

 

Mantis couldn't deny that he was finding it somewhat hard to believe.

It had been a little over a week since he'd finally confronted his best friend, demanding an explanation to the infuriatingly cryptic chain of events that had unfolded in the few days prior to his decision. He'd of course been, the last to know the true reason behind Monkey's blatant avoidance of close interaction with anyone _other_ than Po; and while it had indeed left him in a rather conflicted state of mind, the biggest of his concerns had less to do with the truth, and everything to do with the fact that his own best friend had kept it from him for this long.

He was hurt.

...And perhaps a little uncomfortable.

Admittedly, this outcome was _not_ one he had seen coming, nor one he'd felt particularly inclined to welcome with open arms. Especially not when the questions he'd found himself asking next had only left him even more lost than before.

His mind instantly traveled back to it, crystal clear as cricket song on a cloudless night.

 

 _"OKAY, okay, WOW! You_ **_literally_ ** _almost killed me with that one!" It had taken Mantis nearly five minutes to calm down from his laughing fit. All the while, Monkey had only grown more and more annoyed with the inevitable reaction, and donned the expression to prove it. Rolling onward through the deflating hysterics, Mantis continued. "Y'know that ALMOST makes me accept your apology! Like right on the spot! And just when I was so freakin' worried that you'd changed! Oh man!" He giggled. "Dating Po! Gimme a couple more like THAT and-"_

_"It's not a joke, okay!?"_

_"What?"_

_With flushed cheeks and a rather disgruntled sound, the ape rolled his eyes and leaned back on his haunches as he looked away. "I knew you'd act like this. This is exactly why I didn't have any idea how to tell you!"_

_"Wait, you're...you're_ **_mad_ ** _!?" Silence. "You're not kidding."_

_Monkey glanced over at him again._

_"No. I'm not."_

_Mantis blinked, eyes now wide with stunned surprise. "Wow. Okay."_

 

* * *

 

"Mantis..."

"What!? What'd I say?"

Viper had to laugh at this point, though she stifled it as best she could. Then she carefully gathered her words, and leaned just an inch or so more into their shared space. Softly, she said, "Nothing, it's just... When I said, _the beginning,_ I kinda meant...y'know...the beginning of the _current_ situation. Not the stuff you told me last week." She quickly added. "But thank you, for your honesty. I do appreciate it. Again."

Mantis blinked.

"Ah... Yeah."

She nodded. "Yeah."

Mantis coughed.

Then he continued.

 

* * *

 

_"Hey, Mantis!"_

_Ugh. Not again._

_But sure enough...again. This was the_ ** _fourth_** _training session that Po had interrupted this week, in fact. Leaving Master Mantis to only wonder... What_ ** _did_** _a bug have to do to let off some much-warranted steam around here!? Perhaps he'd never find the answer. So_ _quite reluctantly, he softened from wincing, and turned to greet Master Panda with a big, fake smile...and a mouthful of sarcasm._

_"Ahhh, Po. What a nice surprise!"_

_Po, of course, smiled brightly right back._

_And there he stood, hands clasped behind him, teetering back and forth on his pudgy little toes, a perfect picture of innocence. Or so...he_ **_wanted_ ** _them to think. But the bug was no fool. Not yesterday...not today...not ever. He knew the panda's game. Very well. As his brow crinkled, and a suspicious gaze rested on the smiling face of disaster, he waited to see what the Dragon Warrior would do next._

_"Ummmm, heh," Po awkwardly continued after the moment's hesitation. "So, uh, whatcha doin'?"_

_Mantis blinked. "Training," he said. Then,_ **_ever_ ** _-so-delicately, he added,_ **_"Alone."_ **

_Nothing short of total clarity remained in the reply's implications. All feigned happiness was immediately left to wither away as the bug turned his back on his unwanted company, and proceeded to get on with his Po-less plans._

_Which Po, of course, simply couldn't accept._

_"A-Ah, Mantis, wait!" he called. He released his original posture and took another step forward, nervous eyes wide and big paws now held out in front of him._

_The desperation in his voice only caused Mantis to cringe yet again. He was growing very tired of cringing; and frankly, he was also growing tired of trying to be the nice guy. So tired in fact, that any and all desire to maintain the precious balance between patience and impulsivity only seemed to be slipping further..._

_"I-I was hoping we could_ **_both_ ** _train!"_

_and further..._

_"Y'know! Together!"_

_...from his grasp._

_"Doesn't that sound fun?"_

_"NO!!"_

_Time froze between the two, as stabbing glare met green eyes full of shock. This was it. There was no turning back now, and Mantis knew it well._

_So just as Po peeped, "B-But..."_

_He held his tongue no more._

_"I don't want you joining me, Po!"_

_The bear blinked, orbs still wide with what appeared to quickly shift right back into worried desperation yet again. All of heaven forbid he say ONE more word._

_But of course..._

_"Oh! Um...sure...okay." Despite the obvious blow to his morale, and the stiffening silence that followed his initial reaction to such harsh words, Po somehow still managed to work up a second wind of courage. "Well... Do you...wanna talk? I-I know things have been kinda weird ever since--"_

_"Are you dense!? I have literally nothing to say to you! What I want is for you to STOP bothering me and_ **_go away_ ** _!"_

 

* * *

 

"He turns the other cheek so you YELL at him!?"

"Yes."

"AND insult him! When he's trying to make things right! Mantis!"

"YES! YES, I'm an asshole, okay! I told you I messed up! That's why I'm here talking to you!"

Quickly, Viper stopped short of her next response, just in time to replace it. "...Yeah. You did, I'm sorry." She shook her head against the tinge of embarrassment on her cheeks. "You know how I am with this kind of behavior. And...with Po."

"Ugh, why does everyone have this bizarre, all-consuming need to protect him? He's not a baby!" The insect paused. "Okay, maybe he is a baby. But--"

"Mantis, YOU'RE a baby."

"Only on special occasions."

The serpent could do nothing to stop the inevitable upward curling of her lips. Even when fully embracing sincerity, her little brother simply couldn't find the heart to surrender his playful wit. He was a charming fellow, and naturally gifted in such ways despite his emotional shortcomings and intuitive blindness; but oh, how lucky was he to have a friend who was always ready and willing to share her own.

Viper asked, "So what happened next, then?"

Mantis heaved a long sigh as he sunk in his posture a bit. "What do you _think_ happened next?"

A curious blink was the snake's only response. Her comrade took a moment to shift back up from his slump before he continued, delicately.

"PO went crying like a BABY to Monkey, THAT'S what happened!"

"Oh, dear..."

"And THAT'S why Monkey hates me now! And never wants to speak to me again!!"

Suddenly, Viper interjected, "Whoa, whoa! Hold it right there, mister. I can believe that Po went to Monkey, but again -- there is no way Monkey actually said those mean things. So if you wanna tell me what he _really_ said to you...I would appreciate it a lot."

She never missed a beat. _Snakes...what even._ Mantis, as always, found himself in a conflicted state of not knowing whether he loved or loathed that about her. Ruby eyes narrowed into slits as he considered her words with due respect.

 

* * *

 

_"What is your problem?"_

_Mantis turned at the all-too-familiar voice to lay eyes upon the one and only Master Monkey, stood at his doorway with a look he couldn't quite place. The bug couldn't deny he'd been expecting this little visit, but he quickly found himself at a loss for words now that it was upon him. When the next moment passed without a response, Monkey didn't hesitate to repeat his demand for answers with a suitable gesture: eyes went wide as ever so slightly, he leaned forward._

_Across the room, his tiny comrade broke himself out of the freeze, and looked away to gather a bit of composure. He then coughed, and lifted his face to meet Monkey's again._

_He stupidly asked, "Um, what do you mean?"_

_For a few seconds, Monkey's mouth only hung open._

_"Seriously?" he asked right back. Mantis stayed silent. "You didn't think Po would tell me how you've been treating him? He's pretty upset."_

_The insect fought every urge to roll his eyes all the way to the back of his head. But even he knew better, despite how infuriatingly painful said urges were while both being assumed clueless AND having to hear about Po's infantile emotional state._

**_Well tell him to MAN UP!_ ** _was what he wanted to say._ **_What kind of a man talks about their feelings, anyway?_ **

 

* * *

 

"...Don't look at me like that! I know! I'm an idiot!"

"Good. Please, continue."

 

* * *

 

_But again, Mantis knew better than to expose such ignorant thoughts._

_So very curtly, he answered, "My bad."_

_A deathly stillness followed, interrupted first by a subtle tail flick of frustration. Master Monkey then took a quiet breath, before wetting his lips, and carefully gathering his next words._

_"That's all you have to say?" he asked. The ape paused to give his teammate another chance; when the other said nothing, he continued with a quick shake of the head, and a sternness that very rarely graced his usual demeanor. "Look. I get it. You're mad at me. You think I'm crazy. You don't understand. Whatever it is...that's fine. I never expected you to immediately accept this." He paused. "But what I_ **_do_ ** _expect, is for you to treat your friends with a little more respect, whether you like it or not. So until that's something you can do...maybe we_ **_should_ ** _be avoiding each other."_

_And with that, Monkey turned to exit the scene._

 

* * *

 

Mantis finished the story gaze down with a rather crestfallen expression. His scaly therapist tilted her head just a bit as she watched him, then in a quick decision, she broke from her coil to slither closer and gingerly re-coil around him. He released a heavy sigh.

"See there?" the serpent cooed. "He doesn't hate you, Mantis."

"But he's mad at me."

She hesitated. "Yeah. You hurt Po."

Mantis stayed silent.

A few more seconds brought Viper's head to rest on the floor as she waited patiently for her friend's next reply.

Finally, the bug blurted out, "I didn't mean to hurt him, I was just...I just..."

"You're mad, too." Viper finished the thought for him. Though he grew tense at the words, Mantis didn't bother to deny them. He _was_ mad. In not even a year's time, he'd lost his closest friend AND come to find out that said friend wasn't at all the person he thought he'd known so well. So many years of friendship and fighting side by side, thrown to the wind so quickly. Everything was changing. And it was all because of... "But you're not mad at Monkey, are you?"

He inhaled.

"Oh, I am," he admitted with a nod. Then he paused. "But not as much as Po."

"Hmm." Viper accepted the correction. Thoughtfully, she asked, "And you blame him for what's happened between them?"

Mantis hesitated, and gave a half-truth. "Kinda. But I suppose you're going to tell me why that's stupid?"

The snake smiled. He was getting rather used to this, wasn't he?

"Well..." she began with an airy chuckle as she lifted her head back up. Just as quickly as she'd opened her mouth, though, she was interrupted in full force.

"He's not _gay,_ Viper! He's _never_ been gay! We've had so many conversations about girls and our opinions about girls and our past experiences with girls and I just don't... It doesn't make any sense! Why is he suddenly gay!?" he took a breath of exasperation before meeting his friend's gaze with a face full of hopelessness.

Silence then loomed over the two masters as Viper took a moment to process her distraught companion's sudden outburst. This wasn't the first time he'd voiced this concern to her, but it seemed that he'd only continued to dwell there. It also seemed that there wasn't a single aspect about Monkey and Po's new relationship that _wasn't_ on his mind.

Very carefully, Viper said, "This might be a little advanced for you, but... I think you're thinking about this the wrong way. Monkey doesn't have to be gay to be in love with a guy. Monkey also doesn't have to be straight to be the Monkey you've always known. These things can be pretty fluid, and they don't necessarily define us." She paused. She would explain bisexuality to him later. "Is this really what you're mad about, though?"

Mantis was quiet for a moment. Gaze lowered and brow furrowed, he almost seemed frozen in time; until finally, he sighed in defeat. "I don't know."

"Do you have _any_ idea what exactly you're mad about?"

"...I don't know."

Viper didn't respond, but instead waited for the other to elaborate. If he even had anything to elaborate on. At this point, she really had no idea what to expect. Or if she should be expecting anything at all. Such big messes her little friend found himself in. The insect, almost in cue with her thoughts, met eyes with her again; and a slight antenna twitch preceded his followup.

He said, "I just, didn't expect any of this. I knew something weird was going on, but..." He shook his head. "It's too much. It's _crazy!"_

The reptile tilted her head. "Monkey and Po don't seem to think so."

"Because they're crazy."

She snorted. "Mantis." A second later, she added, "They're _happy._ "

When Mantis stayed quiet, Viper continued. "Don't you think it might be a little easier for everyone if you let them be?"

"Everyone but me," he grumbled.

Immediately and quite firmly, the snake shook her head at his response. "No, Mantis. Acceptance is _just_ as much for you as it is for them. In fact, it might even be more for you in this case." He raised a brow between her words, skeptical but attentive. "But it also takes time. It takes patience. It takes a desire to move forward."

"You mean change?"

"I mean growth. But yes, change is a very important part of growth. You _must_ be fearless in the face of it, lest you be left behind."

A moment of silence ensued, and the bug narrowed his eyes.

Then he replied, "I can't believe you're younger than me."

Master Viper softened into a giggle; the interaction brought a new lightness into the atmosphere around them, and soon enough, Mantis allowed a smile to creep over his own tiny face as well. He then took a big breath in before dropping the weight of his head on one of his claw-thingies, with a rather placid sigh.

"Well," he began. "As _always._ Maybe you're right. Maybe I am just...afraid...of change."

The snake gave a little shrug with her tail. "It's only natural." She paused. And warmly, she added, "But it's nothing you can't handle."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW, HEY. How long has it been? Half a year or some shit?
> 
> I know I told a few of you I'd be posting this chapter months ago, so to everyone I said that to: my sincerest apologies. My first semester back at college started and totally kicked my butt. I finally found some time to finish it up over the break, thankfully; and while I have no plans to abandon this compilation, it would probably be unwise for me to make any promises regarding future updates. I'll just have to wait and see how next semester goes!
> 
> I hope y'all like this chapter more than I do! I've never written something with the intention of it being messy and incomplete before (usually, that's an accident, heh). It would take an entire story to see the full potential of Mantis' growth to the end, so I tried to embrace the emotional chaos of the journey. 
> 
> This is what I ended up with.


End file.
